AI Reshapes Legal Landscape: Opportunities and Challenges Unveiled

According to the article, former Supreme Court judge and Karnataka State Border and River Protection Commission chairman Justice Shivaraj Patil warned that there is no escape from the impact and influence of artificial intelligence (AI) across sectors, including the legal field. Delivering his address at the annual convocation of Karnataka State Law University (KSLU) on November 6, 2025, he stated that the rapid adoption of AI in legal research, contract drafting, document management, and judgment translation reveals both vast opportunities and complex challenges.

Justice Patil cautioned that "This generation holds the responsibility to ensure that technology remains a tool of justice -- not its substitute." He emphasized that privacy, dignity, and due process must be upheld even in the digital age, and the Rule of Law must continue to be the cornerstone of governance and social order.

Andhra Pradesh governor and former Supreme Court judge Justice S Abdul Nazeer, who received an honorary doctorate from KSLU, noted that the global demand for legal professionals is steadily rising. He advised young lawyers to be patient and persistent, as the legal profession is a "long, single-innings test match" rather than a fast-paced limited-overs format. Justice Nazeer highlighted the importance of strong communication skills, oral advocacy, negotiation abilities, and flawless drafting for success in the highly competitive legal field.

The convocation ceremony also saw the presentation of 28 gold medals to meritorious students from the three-year and five-year law programmes at KSLU.