A survey measuring public opinion of AI in the legal system reveals that around half of those questioned would trust the technology with paper-based matters, but almost all want human representation in court. The survey comes as the Solicitors Regulation Authority announced it has authorised the first law firm providing legal services through AI.
Legal intelligence platform Robin AI questioned 4,152 people in the UK and the US and found that, despite both markets sharing frustrations with the legal systems, trust in AI remains low.
Only 10% of the people surveyed said they fully trust law firms, with just 8% of UK respondents agreeing they trust large corporate law firms ‘a great deal’. Participants in the UK were also more likely to describe the legal system as elitist – an answer given by 23% of those asked.
However, when asked who they trust most for legal advice, the vast majority (69%) said they would seek a traditional lawyer. Only 4% said they would trust AI exclusively.
Trust in AI was particularly low for personal or high-stakes matters. The vast majority (93%) wouldn’t let an AI legal service represent them in an open court. Only 11% supported the use of AI in criminal defence matters, with 17% agreeing they would use the technology in redundancy disputes or divorce.
The belief that AI would effectively handle administrative issues was slightly higher. Almost half said they would happily let AI review a rental agreement (47%), write a will (47%) or fight a parking ticket (46%).
Although support for legal AI representation was low, the survey also highlighted public frustration with the sector as it is. Only 10% of respondents said they believe that legal services are truly accessible to all, with just 23% agreeing that good quality services are available to the average person. Participants described the sector as ‘expensive’ (64%), ‘for rich people’ (34%), ‘intimidating’ (30%) and ‘elitist’ (21%).
A large majority of UK respondents (82%) said they wanted lawyers to take mandatory safety or compliance courses before using AI tools.
Robin AI CEO Richard Robinson said the responses to the survey highlighted a need for ‘serious reform’. He added:
“When 90% of people say legal services aren’t truly accessible, that’s more than a bug, it’s a systemic problem. With the right safeguards, AI gives us a rare chance to rebuild it for everyone, not the privileged few.
“People want something better, not just faster. That’s why we believe in human-led AI: to increase access, without sacrificing accountability. Legal AI should make life easier for lawyers and cheaper for clients. But trust must come first.”
This week, the Solicitors Regulation Authority announced it had authorised the first law firm providing services through AI. ‘Garfield.Law Ltd is the first purely AI-based firm we have authorised to provide regulated services in England and Wales’, the SRA said in an announcement.
The Authority said it is keen to ‘encourage the development of new approaches’, and reassured consumers that safeguards are in place.
“AI-driven legal services could deliver better, quicker and more affordable legal services. There are, however, potential risks to the public, so we have been making sure there are appropriate checks in place to make sure that consumer protections are not diluted.”
SRA chief executive Paul Philip echoed the concerns shared by those questioned by Robin AI, but said lack of access to legal services requires innovative solutions. He commented:
“With so many people and small businesses struggling to access legal services, we cannot afford to pull up the drawbridge on innovations that could have big public benefits. Responsible use of AI by law firms could improve legal services, while making them easier to access and more affordable.
“Yet trust and confidence in regulated legal services depends on the public knowing that high professional standards are being met. Any new law firm comes with potential risks, but the risks around an AI-driven law firm are novel. So we have worked closely with this firm to make sure it can meet our rules, and all the appropriate protections are in place.
“As this is likely to be the first of many AI-driven law firms, we will be monitoring progress of this new model closely, so we can both manage the risks and realise the benefits to consumers.”
