The market for AI legal tools for solicitors has matured rapidly. Here is an honest analysis of what differentiates the approaches — and why confidentiality changes everything.
"Solicitors using AI tools that process client data on third-party servers risk breaching their confidentiality obligations under the SRA Code of Conduct. 'Hosted in the UK' is neither sufficient nor verifiable as a guarantee."— SRA Warning Notice on Shadow AI, 2025
The criteria that really matter for a UK law firm — beyond the feature list.
| Criterion | LegisBox | Harvey AI / CoCounsel | Westlaw / Lexis+ AI | ChatGPT / Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data stays in your firm | ✓ Physically on-premises | ✗ Cloud servers | ✗ Cloud servers | ✗ US servers |
| UK GDPR compliance | ✓ By architecture | ≈ By contract (DPA) | ≈ By contract (DPA) | ✗ Cloud Act risk |
| Legal Professional Privilege | ✓ Absolute | ≈ Subject to T&Cs | ≈ Public sources only | ✗ Real waiver risk |
| SRA Code compliance | ✓ Fully compliant | ≈ Depends on use | ≈ Depends on use | ✗ Warning Notices issued |
| Works offline | ✓ Always available | ✗ Cloud required | ✗ Cloud required | ✗ Cloud required |
| Analysis of private client files | ✓ Without risk | ≈ With GDPR risks | ✗ Not designed for this | ✗ Potential breach |
| BAILII / legislation.gov.uk | ✓ Every night | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes (core offering) | ✗ Not current |
| Predictive analysis / deep reasoning | ✓ Included | ≈ Partial | ✗ No | ✓ Yes (cloud) |
| Pricing model | ✓ Firm-wide flat fee | ✗ Per seat | ✗ Per user | ✗ Per user |
| Training on your data | ✓ Never | ≈ Subject to T&Cs | ≈ Subject to T&Cs | ✗ Possible (opt-out) |
| Cost for 10 solicitors | £999/month | ~£2,000+/month | Variable (per user) | ~£300/month (£30×10) |
There is no single type of legal AI tool. The right choice depends on the use case — and the risk tolerance.
You need case law on a general point of law, without uploading any client documents. Public sources are sufficient.
You are uploading confidential client documents to analyse them, identify risks, and prepare legal advice or pleadings.
You are drafting template documents, non-confidential analysis, or research notes without sensitive client data.
You want AI integrated across all workflows: research, case analysis, drafting, diary management, client portal.
Personalised demonstration at your firm. We analyse one of your real case files — in complete confidence, on-site.
Request a free demo →