Artificial intelligence is becoming more common in the legal profession, including family law.
New AI-powered tools are becoming available to assist the legal professional with research, document drafting, and organizing information.
The use of AI in the legal profession has also been in the news lately. Recent court filings involving AI-related citation errors, including matters that have drawn attention in Nebraska, have increased discussion within the legal community about how these tools should be used and what safeguards must remain in place.
How AI is Used in Divorce Cases
Many professionals are trying to figure out the best way to integrate AI tools into their work, legal professionals in Nebraska included.
This can be as simple as an AI-assisted Google search to quickly find the exact statute number of a statute that the attorney knows but doesn’t have the number memorized. The same Google search as before, but upgraded.
Other technologies already available to attorneys are now getting AI-upgrades. For example, programs that were previously available to help search through hundreds and sometimes thousands of pages of documents are now becoming enabled with features to allow the attorney to search and summarize information on a whole new level.
Further, more routine matters that may have had paralegals or support staff to prepare for attorney review are now being prepared by the attorney with AI-assistance or one staff member now starting to be able to do the work of three.
Used responsibly, these AI-upgraded tools may improve efficiency and reduce administrative burdens.
However, technology should never replace attorney judgment, careful legal analysis, or final review by the attorney and client.
AI Sycophancy
Many casual users of AI are not yet aware that most AI isn’t designed just to help you find the answer. AI models are designed to help you find the answer that it believes you are seeking. AI sycophancy is that AI is designed to prioritize user approval and thus will, at times, provide incomplete or inaccurate information in order to try to find the answer that the user is seeking.
For example, prior to the April 2026 tax filing deadline, clients were calling the office to ask if what they found on AI was true about claiming the child tax credit. Depending on how the question was asked, clients reported that AI was stating that the Big Beautiful Bill now gave them permission to claim their children for the child tax credit if they were ordered to pay child support, no matter what their court order or the IRS regulations state on this issue. They were calling to see if what they found on AI was true and if they could disregard the Court order. This incorrect information was circulating on sources that AI was pulling from and spreading. Even though it has now been debunked widely online, there are those that may have relied on this information without checking with an attorney or tax professional. Depending on the AI program used, AI may be searching sources that are not creditable for information, including social media postings of people who have no real information on the topic.
This false tax credit claim information is just one of many examples of AI helping you find the answer that you are seeking, even if the information is not correct. It is common to have to explain to a client that what they found on AI is not correct as applied to their case, in their jurisdiction, or at all.
What Can and Has Gone Wrong
There are cases that have made the news where the Court or an Oversite Committee found the use of AI was improper by an attorney. For example, the Court has commented about legal briefs that have been submitted that contain made-up caselaw, incorrect citations, or mistakes as to the quotations.
Frankly, many of these cases are not really about the misuse of AI, but the misuse of the delegation of responsibility in general. Whether AI assisted with drafting the brief or a law student or paralegal assisted, the attorney knows they are responsible for knowing the content in the brief is true and finalizing it to represent the client in the best possible light. Even if there was some delegation in the initial preparation of the brief, it would be unusual for the attorney not to edit significant portions and to have read the relevant part of any and all cases/caselaw quoted and cited in the brief. The same attorneys that are submitting work created with AI without their own legal research and review are likely the same attorneys that may have over-delegated their responsibilities to their paralegal, law clerk, or other support staff in the past. AI can be treated like a junior assistant, but not as a partner in legal work.
Technological Changes
Even before the advent of AI, attorneys have had specialized tools and software. Programs to help draft routine documents more quickly, software to search for specific terms in large volumes of documents, case management software to track cases, and research tools specific for the legal profession have been around for years and been a standard part of the practice for years.
Further, most attorneys have some form of staff to help with the more routine parts of the court case. This could be having a law clerk doing the initial research or drafting the first draft of a brief. It could be a paralegal that goes through a large volume of documents to pull those that mention a specific topic or term for the attorney to review further.
In many ways, AI is just enhancing and streamlining the tools that are already available. This includes upgrading the already available caselaw searching tools to be better at finding more quickly the cases that are most relevant to your situation. This also includes some upgrades to the programs used to help draft routine documents. Most of these changes are more upgrades than any major changes.
That being said, some of the newer AI tools and updates have capabilities that are opening new doors. For example, the ability of AI to summarize and draft documents or search or organize large volumes of documents is lightyears beyond the capabilities of the prior tools. While these AI tools are new, the function is not. They are designed to assist the attorney with first drafts and reviewing large volumes of documents. These tools can replace some of the work that was previously done by law clerks or paralegals. The attorney’s responsibilities and goals haven’t changed, even though the delegation has.
Internal Safeguards
The same way that an attorney has to have safeguards as to how staff can access and share a client’s information, an attorney has to have safeguards as to what of the client’s information is shared and stored within AI. Often this means that any client-specific information is only shared within a closed system of AI for the firm and not one of the large language models that provides public access to the information, among other safeguards.
The Basics are Unchanged
While technology changes, the basics of the attorney’s overall role remains unchanged. Technology can assist legal work, but it does not replace:
- Professional judgment
- Case strategy
- Attention to detail
- Responsibility to the client
- Ethical considerations
These things remain unchanged.
What This Means for Clients Going Through Divorce
Use technology to your advantage. Your attorney is doing the same thing. There is nothing wrong with using AI to search for questions that you are curious about. You may find good advice and resources.
That being said, keep in mind AI sycophancy may be feeding you the answer you want to hear and the wrong answer entirely. It shouldn’t be used to replace attorney advice specific to your case. It can be used as a great jumping off point for your legal discussion and to start exploring other possibilities. It shouldn’t be trusted to find a definite answer. It can be your junior research assistant. Don’t mistake it for being your legal partner.
The Future of AI in Divorce Law
Technology has and will likely continue to play a role in family law.
When technology is used appropriately, it helps attorneys:
- Improve efficiency
- Reduce administrative tasks
- Organize case materials
- Spend more time on strategy and advocacy
Divorce cases are not simply paperwork. Each case is different and there are a lot of nuances in family law: how the law is applied to the specific facts, how the specific judge may decide the case under the specific facts, and how the judge might view the specific case’s witnesses.
Further, divorce cases involve people, emotions, children, finances, and life-changing decisions. Those issues require judgment, experience, and careful legal counsel that software can’t fully understand and replace. Experienced legal representation still matters.
Law Office of Julie Fowler, PC, LLO
Trusted Family Law Attorney in Omaha, Nebraska
Facing a divorce, child custody dispute, or child support matter in Omaha? You don’t have to navigate family law alone. Whether you need an Omaha divorce attorney, an Omaha child custody attorney, or comprehensive family law representation, our experienced team is here to protect your rights and your family’s future.