Artificial intelligence does not replace legal professionals. It helps them search for information, analyse documents and structure their reasoning more quickly.
In Switzerland, the goal is to save time while respecting professional secrecy, confidentiality and data security.
What AI-assisted legal analysis covers
AI-assisted legal analysis goes further than a simple automatic summary. It can examine documents, cross-reference several sources, identify the key facts and prepare a summary that is useful to the legal professional.
In particular, it can help to:
- spot the key facts in a case file;
- identify the main legal questions;
- compare several sources or decisions;
- prepare a structured summary;
- bring out different lines of reasoning.
The professional nevertheless remains responsible for the final analysis. AI prepares the work, but the legal professional checks the sources, the logic and how the law is applied.
What AI changes in document research
Legal professionals often have to handle large volumes of documents: contracts, emails, appendices, procedural documents or judgments.
AI can speed up this work by quickly turning a lengthy document into a summary, finding a specific piece of information or comparing several versions of a text.
It can also turn a broad legal question into a clear list of points to examine.
But a quick result is not necessarily a correct one. Every important piece of information must be checked by a professional before it is used.
Practical uses on a case file
On a complex case, AI can help with several preparatory tasks:
- identifying the key points across several hundred pages;
- spotting the important documents;
- comparing different versions of a contract;
- extracting the main contractual obligations;
- preparing a summary memo;
- suggesting lines of thought based on the facts.
Legal professionals can thus devote more time to strategy, legal argument and advice.
Why Swiss sources are essential
A legal analysis is only reliable if it is based on sources that the legal professional can find and check.
In Switzerland, Fedlex provides access to federal law, among other things. Case law, legal doctrine and other relevant sources must also be clearly identified.
To learn more about finding court decisions, see our article on Swiss case law with AI.
A general-purpose assistant can produce convincing text without necessarily applying the correct rules of Swiss law. A legal tool, on the other hand, must make it possible to check references and to clearly distinguish between legislation, case law and legal doctrine.
The main risk: letting AI reason instead of the legal professional
AI can produce false information with great confidence. It can also cite the wrong decision or misunderstand a fact.
Legal professionals must therefore never reuse a generated answer automatically.
AI should remain a preparatory tool. Each suggestion is a lead that the professional must check before using it.
Law firms and legal departments: different uses
Needs vary from one organisation to another.
A law firm may use AI to research case law, analyse a complex case or prepare a memo.
An in-house legal department may instead use it to analyse large numbers of contracts, sort internal requests or monitor a contract portfolio.
In both cases, the need is the same: an analysis that is understandable and verifiable, without losing control over the data.
Protecting client data
Legal documents often contain highly sensitive information: confidential contracts, personal data, communications with clients or litigation strategies.
Before using an AI tool, you therefore need to check:
- where the data is hosted;
- who can access it;
- whether it is used to train models;
- how it is protected;
- whether a data protection impact assessment is required if the risk is high.
Swiss data protection law also applies to processing carried out with AI.
These questions are covered in detail in our article AI and data protection.
How Silex protects data
Silex is designed for Swiss legal professionals.
According to the information provided by Silex, its servers are hosted in Switzerland by Infomaniak and client files are not used to train the models.
The Silo module lets you analyse internal documents in a dedicated environment.
Details are available on the security and product pages.
Silex in everyday tools
AI is easier to adopt when it fits into the tools legal professionals already use.
In particular, Silex can be used with WinLex and SkyLex to carry out research without leaving the usual working environment. The integration of Silex into WinLex and SkyLex is presented in a dedicated article.
The partnership with MCR Solutions also aims to integrate legal research into existing workflows.
Bordier & Cie also uses Silex for legal research.
For legal professionals and law students
For legal professionals, AI can reduce the time spent on research and on organising case files, while leaving the final analysis to the professional.
For students, it can help with understanding texts or structuring research, but it does not replace learning legal reasoning.
Our article on AI for law students explains how to use these tools as a learning aid.
What to check before using a legal AI tool
Before introducing a tool into your practice, check in particular:
- that the data is properly protected;
- that it is not used to train the models;
- that the legal sources can be verified;
- that the tool respects professional secrecy;
- that a data protection impact assessment is considered where the risk is high;
- that users are trained on the limits of AI.
The solutions and pricing pages present the different offers.
To test Silex on a real legal question, you can book a demo.
FAQ
Can AI replace a legal professional?
No. It can help search for, organise and analyse information, but the legal professional remains responsible for the final result.
Is the data secure?
According to Silex, the data is hosted in Switzerland by Infomaniak and is not used to train the models.
How do you choose a legal AI tool?
The main criteria are set out in our article on how to choose a legal AI assistant.
For personal use, see also our guide to legal AI for individuals.
