How Generative AI is Shaping the Legal Landscape in 2025

By Amelia Palazzo – Law Clerk, Personal Injury Litigation

Short on time? Scroll to the bottom of the page for key takeaways. 

Change is imminent in such a technologically advanced society – as technology develops, the law needs to change and adapt to society’s needs. Generative Artificial Intelligence (“Gen AI”) was previously a ‘grey area’ or ‘gap’ that existed in legislation/legislative frameworks. But as the use of Gen AI became more prominent in the legal sphere, with lawyers even preparing submissions utilizing the technology, Courts and Tribunals have had to introduce guidelines to address its use. Arguably, current legislation does not sufficiently address all ‘gaps’ posed by Gen AI, but it certainly redresses many current issues that Courts/Tribunals will face. The area will undoubtedly require updates and further guidelines as the technology develops into the future.

What Is Generative AI?

Generative AI refers to a form of artificial intelligence that can generate original content — think text, images, audio, or even video — based on patterns in its training data. In legal terms, this includes tools like:

• ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Llama, Bard, Co-Pilot, AI Media, and
• Bespoke legal AI platforms built for lawyers and firms.

The key takeaway? Gen AI can create, not just correct. So while it’s fine to use spellcheck, translation tools, or formatting assistance, creating legal arguments or evidence with Gen AI is an entirely different matter.

Why Does This Matter for Personal Injury Law?

In personal injury cases, especially those involving medical negligence or motor vehicle accidents, evidence and expert opinions are critical. So is trust in the legal process. That’s why AI-generated content — even unintentionally — could raise serious concerns about accuracy, reliability, and confidentiality.

Imagine a client’s private medical records being entered into a chatbot. Or a character reference “written” by AI rather than the person who supposedly wrote it. These situations could compromise both the case and the client.

To respond to this risk, the District Court of NSW, the Personal Injury Commission, and the Supreme Court of NSW have all adopted strict guidelines on the use of Gen AI in legal proceedings.

New Legal Guidelines: Practice Note SC Gen 23

The Personal Injury Commission and the District Court of NSW have recently adopted the Supreme Court of NSW’s Practice Note SC Gen 23: Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) (‘the Practice Note’).

This is effective from 3 February 2025. 

Application of the Practice Note

• The Practice Note commenced on 3 February 2025 and is applicable to all proceedings thereafter.
• The Practice Note defines Gen AI as “a form of artificial intelligence that is capable of creating new content, including text, images or sounds, based on patterns and data acquired from a body of training material”.
• Gen AI may take the form of generic large language model programs, including but not limited to, examples such as Chat-GPT, Claude, Grok, Llama, Google Bard, Co-Pilot, AI Media, or more bespoke programs specifically directed to legal practitioners.
• For the purposes of the Practice Note, Gen AI does not include technology or functionality which merely corrects spelling or grammar, provides transcription or translation, assists with formatting and otherwise does not generate substantive content.
• The Practice Note is not applicable to the use of search engines such as Google or dedicated legal research software, which uses AI to conduct searches across various legal material (legislation, case law, judgments, articles, etc.)

General Prohibition

• The Practice Note sets out that material produced by subpoena, or any material subject of a statutory prohibition upon publication, must not be entered into any Gen AI program, except in certain circumstances, which are referred to and further detailed in the Practice Note.

Affidavits, witness statements or other evidentiary material

• Gen AI must not be used in generating the contents of affidavits, witness statements, character references or other material of a similar nature, intended to reflect the deponent or witness’ evidence and / or opinion. However, there is an exception whereby the use of Gen AI is not prohibited for work that is preparatory to the drafting of the affidavit or other material setting out witness’ evidence.
• Any affidavit, witness statement or character reference must contain a disclosure that Gen AI was not used in generating its content or the content of any annexure or exhibit prepared by the deponent.
• In exceptional cases, leave may be sought to use Gen AI for the preparation or generation of any annexure or exhibit to an affidavit, witness statement or character reference. ‘Leave’ refers to the prior approval of the Court. The details of what must be identified in the application for leave to the Court, is stipulated within the Practice Note.

Written submissions and summaries of argument

• Where Gen AI has been used to prepare written submissions or summaries of arguments, the author of the submissions or summaries must verify the content of these documents and ensure that all legal and academic authority, case law and legislative materials are referenced appropriately.
• The verification process and referencing must not be solely carried out by using Gen AI.

Expert Reports

• Expert reports are required to state the opinion/s of the expert and the reasoning process, as such, Gen AI must not be used to draft or prepare the content of an expert report, without prior leave of the Court.
• Leave may be granted to use Gen AI, subject to certain requirements. If an expert witness obtains prior leave to use Gen AI for any purpose in preparing an expert report, the expert is required to disclose the use of Gen AI.
• Where Gen AI is used by expert witnesses, the Practice Note provides specific details regarding applications for leave to use Gen AI and how such use is to be disclosed in reports.
• Legal practitioners have an obligation to draw the requirements of the Practice Note to the attention of experts when instructing them.

Key Takeaways for Clients and Legal Professionals

If you’re involved in a personal injury claim — such as a workers’ compensation matter or motor vehicle accident — and you’re preparing a statement or affidavit, make sure your words are your own.

If you’re providing expert testimony, such as a medical opinion, you’ll need to declare whether you’ve used any AI tools in drafting your report.

If you’re a lawyer or paralegal, verify your sources and stay up to date with evolving AI protocols — Gen AI tools can support your work, but cannot replace human judgment or legal analysis.

Got Questions About AI or Personal Injury Claims?

Our team is keeping a close watch on these developments. If you’re unsure how these rules apply to your case — or need help with a personal injury matter — we’re here to help.

Contact us today for expert legal advice grounded in real-world understanding - 02 4626 5077

The contents of this publication are for reference purposes only. This publication does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Specific legal advice should always be sought separately before taking any action based on this publication.

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