Drafting a motion with AI: where the time actually goes
The blank page is rarely the hard part. A look at which parts of drafting AI genuinely speeds up, and which still need a lawyer's full attention.
Ask a litigator where the hours go on a motion and the answer is rarely the first draft. It is the facts section that has to match the record, the argument that has to anticipate the other side, and the third round of edits after the partner has read it.
What AI does well
- Turning your instructions, facts and jurisdiction into a structured first draft in minutes.
- Keeping defined terms, headings and citations consistent across a long document.
- Producing alternative framings of an argument so you can choose the strongest one.
What still needs you
Strategy. Which arguments to run and which to concede, how hard to push on a weak point, what the judge has said before. A drafting tool can surface options, but choosing among them is the part of the job clients are paying for.
The best use of a first draft is to give you something worth disagreeing with.
Used this way, AI drafting does not remove the lawyer from the document. It moves the lawyer to the parts of the document where their judgement makes the difference.
