An AI agent can read the latest notes on a file and prepare a plain-language update for the client. The responsible lawyer reviews it and sends it, so nothing reaches a client without their approval.
Client communication is worth getting right. The Law Society of Ontario received 6,478 complaints in 2024, and service complaints were the largest group at 40.5%, just ahead of integrity at 37.5%.
The Law Society doesn't break "service" down further, so there's no figure for how many of those were about communication. Still, many lawyers will recognize the pattern: the matter is moving, but the client hasn't heard anything, and a few weeks later they call to ask where things stand.
Why do client updates slip?
Usually because an update sits on a long list of other tasks, and writing one takes more steps than it looks. Someone has to open the file, read through the recent notes and correspondence to get back up to speed, decide what the client needs to know, and then write it in plain language. Across a full caseload, that adds up. It's also time that often isn't billed: on hourly files it tends to be written off, and on fixed-fee files it comes out of the fee.
Can AI write client updates for a law firm?
Yes. An AI agent is software that uses generative AI to carry out a defined task on a schedule. Here the task is reading the file and preparing the update. The Law Society of Ontario's 2024 guidance on generative AI lists drafting and summarizing among appropriate uses, and that's the work the agent does.
A typical setup looks like this:
- Once a week, or whenever a new note is added to a file, the agent reads the recent notes and correspondence for that matter.
- It prepares a short update covering what happened, what comes next and anything the firm needs from the client, in the tone your lawyers already use.
- The responsible lawyer receives the update along with the notes it was based on, makes any changes, and sends it.
The lawyer stays in charge of what's said and gives any advice, while the agent handles the reading and the writing.
Here's the kind of update it might prepare. The matter is invented.
Hi Priya,
A quick update on your file. Last week the other side replied to our demand letter. They accepted most of the amount but disputed two invoices from March.
Next, we'll prepare a response by October 20 and send it to you to review before it goes out. You don't need to do anything right now.
Michael
Do client files have to leave the firm?
No. The agent runs inside the AI tool your firm already licenses, under the data agreements you already have, and client files stay in your systems.
Most firms already have such a tool. Clio's 2025 report found that 93% of mid-size firms use AI in some form, though only about half use it widely. That might be Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT or a tool built into your practice management software. A setup that needs client files copied somewhere new, or two systems connected, is a bigger and riskier project than this one needs to be.
How do you know it's working?
Treat it as an investment you can measure. Before the agent starts, record a baseline for a few weeks, then compare after the first month:
- Lawyer and staff time spent per update
- Updates sent per week, per lawyer
- Inbound "any news on my file?" calls and emails
- Time written off on client communication
Time per update and updates per week show the time saved, and inbound calls are what clients notice. Together they give you a figure to weigh against the cost of setting the agent up.
Where should a firm start?
Pick one matter type where updates follow a routine, such as residential real estate closings or insurance defence files. Gather around ten past updates as examples of your firm's tone, and run the agent for two weeks with a lawyer approving every update. That's enough to see whether it earns a permanent place.
Sources Law Society of Ontario 2024 annual report, via Law Times; LSO generative AI guidance, via Osler; Clio mid-size firms report, via Law Times.