How AI Will Change the Way Small Firm Lawyers Work Outside the Office

As the calendar turns, we often look back to review the year past and look ahead to explore the future and set expectations. This column will follow that tradition and look at how artificial intelligence (AI) may change the practice of law in 2025.

The Times, They Are A-Changin’

Bob Dylan burst onto the scene as a songwriter and performer in the early 1960s, and his music became a continuing commentary on problems within our society and a harbinger of the changes on the horizon. Dylan’s music has had a resurgence since the recent release of his biopic A Complete Unknown. Always a fan, I borrowed the title from one of his most successful songs for the subhead above—and for the theme of this column.

When I started writing “Road Warrior” many years ago, I defined road warriors in the legal profession as lawyers who spend a significant amount of time on the road or working remotely. Since that time, road warriors in the profession have grown from a small and underprivileged minority to a majority of lawyers in this country. My prediction (and the thesis of this column) is that road warriors in the legal profession will see major shifts in how they manage their practices because of AI. In 2025, AI is poised to become an even more crucial tool, enabling road warrior lawyers to remain highly productive, efficient, and connected—whether they’re meeting with clients, attending court hearings, going to depositions, working from a coffee shop, or, if they choose to do so, working from their vacation spot. This column will look at the key changes lawyers can expect to see and how AI will enhance their work outside the office.

The demands of a solo or small firm law practice don’t stop when we leave the office. Whether meeting with clients, attending hearings, or working remotely, we are constantly on the move. But with that mobility, we have always had the challenge of staying productive, organized, and connected to our clients and cases—historically with limited resources. The ability to function efficiently on the road has grown increasingly easier over the duration of my practice. AI will quickly enable tools that expand that ability.

In 2025, AI will become an even more integral part of legal practice, offering road warrior lawyers the tools they need to enhance efficiency, improve client service, and streamline their workflows—whether in or out of the office.

AI-Powered Client Communication: Keeping Clients Informed on the Go

Client communication is a critical part of the job. Solo and small firm lawyers often have limited administrative support. Historically, working remotely meant even more limitations on the functionality of that support, making it even more challenging to stay on top of phone calls, emails, and meetings.

In 2025, AI will play a key role in automating routine client communications, allowing lawyers to stay responsive without sacrificing precious time. AI-powered virtual assistants will handle basic inquiries, schedule meetings, and provide case updates without the lawyer needing to do everything manually.

For example, Clio’s virtual assistant already helps lawyers with intake forms, client communication, and appointment scheduling. Similarly, LawDroid can automate responses to common client questions and guide clients through the intake process. By leveraging these AI tools, solo and small firm lawyers can maintain excellent client service, even when they’re out of the office or engaged in other matters.

Beyond just chatbots, AI tools are getting smarter about personalized communication. For instance, AI can use case history and client preferences to send customized updates, reminders, or relevant documents, making client interactions feel more tailored without requiring the lawyer’s direct involvement.

Mobile Legal Tools: Work Anywhere, Anytime

As a solo or small firm lawyer, you know that managing your practice outside the office requires access to legal documents, case files, and legal research tools—ideally without missing a beat. Thanks to AI-driven mobile legal apps, lawyers can now access their cases, track time, draft documents, and even conduct legal research directly from their smartphones or tablets.

AI is transforming our mobile tools, making them smarter and more intuitive. In 2025, these apps will provide real-time case summaries, highlight important legal developments, and suggest relevant legal precedents based on your work.

For example, ROSS Intelligence uses AI to analyze complex legal documents and deliver relevant results quickly. Lawyers can use this AI tool to conduct research on the go, instantly finding relevant case law, statutes, and regulations. Similarly, Casetext’s CARA A.I. tool can analyze the context of your queries and provide more accurate search results, summarizing case law and offering insights in seconds.

AI will also improve collaboration between lawyers and their teams, enabling them to work remotely while staying on top of case developments and communicating efficiently with colleagues and clients.

Document Automation: Speeding Up Document Drafting and Reducing Errors

One of the most time-consuming tasks for any lawyer is drafting quality legal documents. Whether it’s contracts, pleadings, or client correspondence, creating and reviewing documents takes up a significant chunk of time. However, AI has made document drafting faster and more efficient by automating routine tasks, creating templates, and ensuring accuracy.

AI-powered tools such as LawGeex already help lawyers generate error-free, customized legal documents in a fraction of the time it would otherwise take. These tools can create basic legal forms, contracts, and agreements by simply inputting key details about a case or transaction. This reduces the time spent drafting and the likelihood of errors, which is crucial for solo and small firm road warriors, who may lack a dedicated support team to double-check documents.

During 2025, expect document automation tools to become even more sophisticated. For example, AI tools may be able to generate complex contracts or agreements based on prior templates and client-specific preferences, automatically suggesting clauses or terms based on industry standards or similar cases.

For lawyers working on the go, having the ability to generate and review documents remotely will save hours of work while ensuring that important documents are ready when needed.

Legal Research: Accelerating Insight Discovery

Legal research, a cornerstone of any attorney’s practice, can constitute a significant time drain for solo and small firm lawyers and even more so for road warriors. In 2025, AI will continue to speed up and enhance the research process by helping lawyers sift through vast amounts of legal information quickly and accurately.

AI-driven platforms such as Casetext’s CARA A.I. and LexisNexis’s Lexis+ AI already offer enhanced search capabilities, allowing lawyers to perform comprehensive research based on the context of their queries. Instead of manually sifting through case law, AI can automatically highlight relevant rulings and precedents, saving lawyers time and effort. In addition, AI tools can scan new rulings or regulations and notify you when there’s something relevant to your practice.

AI research tools will continue to improve over time. In 2025, they’ll become even more sophisticated, allowing lawyers to analyze the outcomes of similar cases or predict trends in case law, offering deeper insights into the strengths and weaknesses of a case. I have information from a very reliable source that Thomson Reuters has work in process to generate such tools in 2025, but I am not yet able to discuss them. It does not take the prescience of Nostradamus to know that where one of the major legal publishers/software providers treads, the others will surely (and quickly) also appear.

For solo and small firm lawyers working remotely, AI-powered research tools provide a huge advantage by enabling them to access legal insights and stay updated on developments, no matter where they are.

Time Tracking and Billing: Automating the Administrative Workload

For solo and small firm lawyers who bill clients by the hour, accurate time tracking is crucial, but it can also be a major source of frustration, especially when working remotely. Lawyers often struggle to remember when they last worked on a case or how much time they spent on certain tasks. Fortunately, AI makes this process more seamless by automatically tracking time and streamlining billing.

AI tools such as TimeSolv and Bill4Time offer automatic time-tracking features that integrate with other tools, such as email and calendar apps, to log billable activities. These AI tools can detect when you’re working on a document or email, automatically recording time without requiring manual input.

In 2025, AI will likely make time tracking even more intuitive, with voice-activated tracking or smart calendar integrations that log time automatically as you move between tasks or client meetings.

Enhanced Security for Remote Work: Protecting Client Data

One of the most significant concerns for lawyers working outside the office is the security of sensitive client data. Working remotely, especially from public spaces or on unsecured networks, can expose confidential information to cyber threats. AI-driven cybersecurity tools help lawyers stay protected, even while on the go.

AI-powered tools will monitor devices for potential threats, automatically encrypt emails and files, and identify suspicious activity that might otherwise go unnoticed. This is crucial for solo and small firm lawyers and road warriors who may not have a dedicated IT team or the resources to invest in high-level security measures.

For example, NordVPN’s AI security tools offer AI-driven threat detection and data encryption. By integrating these AI-driven security measures, solo and small firm lawyers can work remotely with confidence, knowing that client data is protected.

AI-Enhanced Case Management: Staying Organized and on Top of Deadlines

Managing multiple cases and clients while on the road presents a challenge for any solo or small firm lawyer. However, AI-driven case management tools are changing the game by helping lawyers stay organized and efficient. In 2025, these tools will leverage predictive analytics and automation to ensure that no deadline is missed and that tasks are prioritized effectively.

Platforms such as PracticePanther and MyCase already incorporate AI to help lawyers manage cases more effectively, with features such as automatic task assignments, deadline reminders, and predictive analytics. Expect AI to automatically flag high-priority tasks based on upcoming deadlines and case developments, helping lawyers stay on top of their workload without constantly checking calendars.

AI-driven case management can also help lawyers predict case outcomes based on historical data and case trends, providing valuable insights for decision-making and strategy. This means fewer missed deadlines and a more organized approach to case management.

Embracing AI to Enhance Your Legal Practice

Working outside the office is an inevitable and increasingly significant part of practice as a solo or small firm lawyer. AI will provide you with the tools to streamline your work, enhance productivity, and offer better service to your clients.

From AI-driven client communication tools to mobile legal research, document automation, and case management systems, AI will help you manage your practice more efficiently and securely. By embracing these tools, you can reduce administrative burdens, improve accuracy, and focus more on practicing law.

AI isn’t just a luxury for large firms; it’s becoming an essential resource for solo and small firm attorneys who want to stay competitive and effective in an increasingly mobile and digital legal landscape.

Anticipate that AI will reduce the time you spend on administrative work, increasing the time you have availabile for client-facing activities, case strategy, and other billable work. It may even give you a few extra hours of personal time.