On Saturday, May 10, 2025, the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) will host the NLSIU AI & Law Forum 2025 at its campus in Bengaluru. The Forum will take place from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm and will focus on the challenges and opportunities emerging from AI in law and the legal-tech space in India.
The emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs) is redefining professional services, and although all service sectors are evolving, the legal sector continues to be one of the most complex for AI to influence. The potential of LLMs for legal research, contract review, and even case prediction is significant, and it all sounds hammering, but in India, the actual adoption has been (without misleading language) abysmal. It’s not for want of development; there are enduring systemic blockers – and this is where the NLSIU forum is looking to create a dialogue, and provide a space for stakeholders, public and private sector, to overcome these hurdles.
Challenges Facing AI Adoption in the Legal Sector
The NLSIU AI & Law Forum 2025 focuses on three key barriers to incorporating AI into legal practice in India. To begin, there is a major knowledge gap among legal actors. Although generative AI tools like ChatGPT hold potential for many legal uses, the vast majority of lawyers and practitioners have not built the necessary technical fluency to leverage the use of these solutions in real-world practice.
Second, AI developers being disconnected from legal practitioners likely remains a fundamental barrier additive to legal-tech startups and AI companies developing new tools to address issues in
law – none of the legal-tech startups or AI partners has had direct interaction with law firms, courts or civil society organizations. Consequently, their solutions may be misaligned from on-the-ground needs or workflow realities.
Spotlight on Innovation and Education
Presentations: AI startups and civil society organizations will demonstrate tools designed to streamline legal processes or expand access to justice. These sessions will include live demonstrations followed by interactive Q&As.
Workshops: Small teams of students will participate in hands-on workshops focused on building practical solutions at the intersection of AI and law. Topics will include prompt engineering, legal automation, and ethical frameworks for AI deployment.
AI Labs: Participants will gain premium access to leading AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity, as well as Indian legal-tech tools Jhana and Jurisphere. These labs aim to give students real-world exposure to advanced legal technologies.
Shaping the Future of Legal Tech in India
The NLSIU AI & Law Forum 2025 is more than a discussion–it’s an innovation hub designed to change the conversation around AI and the legal system in India. By putting students, startups, and civil society groups into a room, we will reduce the knowledge gap, foster collaboration, and begin to build a culture of experimentation and responsible AI use through law.
As the country progresses with its digital transformation, the legal sector’s capacity to engage with AI will be crucial in how quickly or efficaciously it can reform. It is initiatives like this that lay the groundwork for where we want to go.
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