MIT Technology Review Brasil argues for AI in legal operations and lawyers in decisions
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An article published by MIT Technology Review Brasil argues that adopting AI in the legal sector should not merely speed up existing tasks. It proposes applying reverse engineering to processes—taking steps apart, questioning them, discarding, redistributing and reassembling them—to eliminate unnecessary work and focus lawyers on real deviations, risks and negotiations. In a confidentiality-agreement workflow, for example, a clear playbook, standardized templates and AI operating within parameters set by the legal department could reduce a process described in the text as having twelve steps to just a few.
The article stresses that putting AI at the center of operations does not mean transferring legal judgment, professional responsibility or the trusted relationship with clients to the technology. Citing the Statute of Advocacy (Law No. 8.906/1994), it also highlights the indispensability of lawyers, the protection of their data and communications, technical independence and the ethical risk of signing a machine-generated document without critical review.
Why it matters · editorial interpretation
The proposal shifts the debate from merely automating tasks to redesigning legal operations, potentially freeing lawyers to focus on risks, exceptions and negotiations. Adoption still depends on limits set by the legal department and critical review, because professional responsibility, confidentiality and technical independence remain human responsibilities.
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