What is Microsoft Copilot for Legal and should your law firm be using it?

Microsoft has just launched Copilot for Legal, a new set of AI capabilities designed specifically for legal work. It’s being rolled out from today. We take a look at why SME firms should be taking a serious look at it.

Copilot for Legal introduces more than 20 specialist legal skills, helping solicitors draft documents, review contracts, identify important clauses and complete other time consuming tasks. It works within the Microsoft applications you are already using such as Word, rather than requiring everyone to learn an entirely new system.

Copilot for legal is not an AI designed to replace lawyers, it is a tool specifically designed for lawyers to assist them so they can spend less time on repetitive work and more time advising clients.

But introducing AI into a law firm requires care. Client confidentiality, accuracy and professional accountability remain essential.

So what does Copilot for Legal actually do, how does it compare with other legal AI tools, and what should your firm consider before using it?

What is Microsoft Copilot for Legal?

Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant that can help employees write, summarise, analyse information and complete tasks using Microsoft 365 applications. Copilot for Legal builds on this with capabilities designed specifically for legal work.

For example, it can help a solicitor:

• Draft an agreement using the firm’s existing templates and precedents.
• Review a contract and identify clauses that may need attention.
• Suggest changes to an agreement, showing them as tracked changes in Word.
• Compare contracts and highlight important differences.
• Identify contractual obligations, deadlines and key dates.
• Prepare summaries and organise information from legal documents.

These are tasks that lawyers already perform, often involving considerable time reviewing and amending documents. Copilot can help prepare the initial work, allowing the solicitor to focus on checking the detail, applying their expertise and making decisions.

It is not a replacement for legal knowledge or professional judgement. It can work alongside specialist legal software. Microsoft is developing connections with established legal technology providers, including document management and specialist legal AI platforms.

Importantly: Copilot for Legal is not grounded in UK law and at time of writing, most of the legal plugins are for US legal research. UK legal plugins such as Thomson Reuters CoCounsel and LexisNexis are currently not integrated. So you will still need to operate and run these tools separately.

What might this look like in practice?

Imagine a commercial property solicitor reviewing a lengthy lease. Normally, they might spend considerable time checking clauses against the firm’s preferred positions, identifying unusual provisions and preparing proposed amendments. Copilot for Legal could help with the initial review, highlighting clauses that differ from the firm’s preferred wording and suggesting changes directly in Word.

The solicitor would still review those suggestions, consider the client’s circumstances and decide which amendments are appropriate. The potential benefit is less time spent on repetitive checking and more time available for the work that requires legal expertise. For a busy law firm, even relatively modest time savings across multiple fee earners could make a meaningful difference.

Will Copilot for Legal replace solicitors?

No. And we do not believe replacing lawyers should be the objective. Legal work involves far more than producing documents.

Clients rely on solicitors to understand their circumstances, interpret the law, assess risks, negotiate outcomes and provide sound professional advice. AI can help prepare information, but it cannot take responsibility for the advice your firm gives.

Consider a solicitor reviewing a commercial agreement. Copilot might identify a clause that differs from the firm’s usual wording and suggest an amendment. However, it cannot reliably determine whether that amendment is commercially appropriate for a particular client without the solicitor’s oversight.

The lawyer still needs to understand the client’s objectives, assess the implications and approve the final wording. The real opportunity is to make good lawyers more productive, not to replace them.

For a typical law firm, that could mean:

• Spending less time on routine document preparation.
• Improving turnaround times for clients.
• Making better use of existing precedents and templates.
• Giving fee earners more time for advice and client relationships.
• Increasing capacity without immediately needing to recruit additional staff.

How does Copilot for Legal compare with Harvey and CoCounsel?

Copilot for Legal is not the only AI product designed for lawyers. You may already have heard of Harvey or Thomson Reuters CoCounsel, both of which provide specialist legal AI capabilities.

The main differences are where they fit into your firm’s working practices and the types of tasks they support.

These products increasingly overlap, and some can work together. For example, Microsoft has announced integrations with specialist providers, including Harvey. There is also an important distinction between preparing legal documents and researching the law. Copilot for Legal should not be regarded as a replacement for specialist legal research services.

For smaller firms, the sensible approach is to start with the problem you want to solve. If your solicitors spend substantial time reviewing contracts in Word, Copilot for Legal may be a logical starting point.

If your priority is specialist legal research, another product may be more suitable.

And if your firm needs both, it may eventually benefit from more than one tool. The key is to avoid paying for overlapping AI products without understanding how they will improve productivity.

What are the risks of using AI in a law firm?

There are two particularly important risks: inaccurate information and client confidentiality. AI can produce information that sounds convincing but is wrong.

It can misinterpret a document, overlook an important detail or produce an incorrect legal reference. This is sometimes called an AI hallucination. There is also a risk that confidential information could be exposed if employees enter client details into AI applications without appropriate safeguards.These concerns are particularly important for law firms because of their professional obligations.

What does the SRA say about AI?

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned firms about the risks of using AI, including fabricated legal references and the inappropriate disclosure of confidential information. The SRA’s position is clear: solicitors remain responsible for their work, even when AI has helped produce it.

Using an AI tool does not remove a solicitor’s duties to clients or the courts. Firms must continue to meet their obligations relating to competence, confidentiality, supervision and the accuracy of their work. For partners and practice managers, this means AI cannot simply be introduced without rules and oversight. Your firm should establish what AI can be used for, what information employees may enter into it and how the results must be checked.

How can lawyers make sure Copilot’s answers are accurate?

We recommend a simple five step approach whenever AI is used for legal work.

1. Start with trusted information

Where possible, ask Copilot to work from approved firm templates, precedents and relevant matter documents.

2. Check the facts

Confirm names, dates, figures, contractual terms and other important details against the original documents.

3. Verify legal references

Check any legislation, case law or legal citations independently using authoritative sources.

4. Consider the client’s circumstances

Make sure the output reflects the client’s actual requirements and does not overlook relevant risks.

5. Have a solicitor approve the final work

A suitably qualified person must review and approve the output before it is relied upon or shared where professional judgement is required.

These checks should become part of the firm’s normal working practices.

Is Microsoft Copilot safer than using ChatGPT or other AI tools?

For a law firm already using Microsoft 365, Copilot has some important security and governance advantages.

Microsoft has designed its business Copilot services to work with the security and information protection controls available within Microsoft 365. This means firms can use existing Microsoft tools to help control who can access information, protect confidential documents and monitor how AI is being used.

There are four particularly useful benefits.

1. Your firm’s existing access permissions are respected

Copilot works within the permissions already assigned to employees.

For example, if a solicitor does not have permission to access a confidential document, Copilot should not give them access to it.

However, this only works properly if your firm’s existing permissions are correct. If confidential documents have been shared too widely, Copilot could make them easier for those employees to discover.

This is why reviewing access permissions before introducing Copilot is so important.

2. Confidential documents can receive additional protection

Microsoft provides tools such as sensitivity labels, which allow firms to identify and protect confidential information. For example, documents relating to a particularly sensitive matter could receive additional restrictions.

These protections can also help control how information is used by Copilot.

3. Firms can restrict certain information from being processed

Microsoft also provides Data Loss Prevention technology. Put simply, this helps prevent sensitive information from being used or shared in ways that breach the firm’s rules.

For example, it may be possible to prevent Copilot from processing documents carrying particular confidentiality labels.

4. AI use can be monitored and audited

Microsoft provides compliance tools that can help firms review and investigate how Copilot has been used. This is useful where a firm needs to demonstrate that AI adoption is being properly governed.

Microsoft also states that prompts, responses and documents used with Microsoft 365 Copilot are not used to train the underlying foundation models.

Does this mean Copilot is completely risk free?

No. Governance settings need to be configured correctly, and some require additional Microsoft licences. This does it mean that every other AI product is insecure. Many specialist enterprise AI platforms provide strong security and confidentiality controls of their own.

The advantage of Copilot for a Microsoft 365 based law firm is that it can build on security and governance arrangements the business may already have. That can make responsible adoption easier to manage.

What does a law firm need before it can start using Copilot for Legal?

The good news is that firms already using Microsoft 365 may have much of the necessary technology in place. Microsoft has made Copilot for Legal available to eligible Microsoft 365 Copilot commercial subscribers, subject to feature availability and rollout arrangements.

However, purchasing licences should not be the first step.

We recommend five things before making Copilot widely available.

1. Check your Microsoft licences

Establish which subscriptions you already have, what additional licences are required and which employees genuinely need them.

2. Review how confidential information is stored

Make sure sensitive client documents are appropriately protected and that employees cannot access information they should not see.

3. Put an AI policy in place

Define what employees can use AI for, which tools are approved and what checks are required.

4. Train your employees

Explain how to use Copilot effectively, how to recognise inaccurate output and when a solicitor must review the work.

5. Start with a small group

Choose a few employees and a small number of tasks where AI could save time. Review the results before expanding access across the firm.

For example, a firm could begin with five solicitors who regularly review commercial agreements. If each solicitor saves an average of 30 minutes per working day, that represents approximately 12.5 hours of capacity per week across the group, assuming five working days.

That is an illustrative calculation, not a guaranteed saving. Actual benefits need to be measured, and time saved does not automatically translate into additional revenue. However, it demonstrates why a focused trial can be more valuable than purchasing licences for everyone immediately.

How can Pro Drive IT help your law firm introduce Copilot for Legal?

At Pro Drive IT, we work with law firms that want to take advantage of new technology without putting client information, compliance or their reputation at risk.

We believe AI should help your business become more productive, but it needs to be introduced in a controlled and practical way.

Our support covers four areas.

Getting Copilot ready for your firm

We review your existing Microsoft 365 environment, check that information is appropriately protected and help configure Copilot for your business.

We can then support a phased introduction rather than making it available to everyone at once.

Helping your team use it effectively

An AI licence has little value if employees do not know how to use it.

We help teams understand what Copilot can do, which tasks it is suitable for and how to check the results.

The focus is on practical improvements to everyday work.

Protecting confidential information and supporting compliance

We help put the necessary technical safeguards and governance arrangements in place. This includes reviewing access permissions, protecting confidential information and helping establish policies for responsible AI use.

Your firm’s partners and compliance advisers remain responsible for its professional obligations, but we can help ensure the supporting technology is properly configured and managed.

Keeping costs under control

AI licences can quickly become an unnecessary expense if they are purchased without a clear plan. We help identify which employees need Copilot, where it is likely to save time and whether the benefits justify the investment. We can also review adoption and usage so that your firm is not paying for technology that nobody uses.

Should your law firm invest in Copilot for Legal?

For many small and medium-sized law firms, Copilot for Legal could be a valuable addition to the technology they already use. It offers opportunities to reduce repetitive work, improve document preparation and help solicitors use their time more effectively.

But the right decision depends on your firm’s working practices. If your team spends considerable time drafting and reviewing documents in Word, Copilot for Legal is certainly worth exploring. If your biggest inefficiencies lie elsewhere, another AI tool or a simpler automation may deliver better results.

The important thing is to understand the opportunity before investing. AI should solve a business problem, not become another technology expense.

Find out where AI could save your law firm time

You do not need to understand the technical details of AI to explore how it could help your firm.

You need to know where your people are spending time on repetitive work, which processes could be improved and what the potential benefits might be.

That is what our AI and Automation Enablement Workshop is designed to help you. Find out more and contact us at: Explore Pro Drive IT’s AI and Automation Enablement Workshop