Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now a common tool in a construction lawyer’s kit. For those working with construction contracts, which are often dense, detailed, and bespoke, AI can be both a blessing and a trap. This article offers practical tips to get the benefits of AI while avoiding the pitfalls.
First Things First: Privacy and Confidentiality
Before using any AI tool, consider confidentiality. Many platforms use inputs to train models unless settings are changed. Do not upload client-sensitive material unless you’re sure of the data-handling terms. Prefer firm-approved or “walled” tools. When in doubt, strip identifiers, paraphrase, or get approval. Many AI tools allow users to prevent the AI from training itself on your data—use those settings.
Where AI Excels
AI can meaningfully speed up contract drafting and review:
- Compare and contrast. Rapidly summarize differences between clauses or forms and flag risk shifts (e.g., delay, site conditions, indemnity).
- Prompt example: “Compare these two indemnity clauses (CCDC 2 vs. owner SCs). Summarize differences and impacts on the contractor.”
- Brainstorming. Generate alternatives to spur thinking, even if not final.
- Prompt example: “Suggest edits to delay and liquidated damages clauses in a CCDC 2 contract to reduce contractor schedule risk while remaining reasonable for a public-sector owner in Ontario.”
- Quality checks. Catch inconsistencies, missing definitions, and broken cross-references.
- Prompt example: “Review the General Conditions, Supplementary Conditions, and Milestones. Identify inconsistencies in ‘Substantial Performance’ and ‘Ready-for-Takeover.’”
Where You Excel (and AI Doesn’t)
AI lacks client, project, and political context. It cannot gauge risk tolerance, interview stakeholders, or exercise judgment. Construction matters are multi-party and document-heavy; deciding who truly bears design, geotechnical, or coordination risk often requires reading across the prime, consultant, and subcontracts and understanding delivery models. AI can surface issues, but only a lawyer can decide if the allocation fits the client.
Getting the Best Out of AI: Tips and Tricks
Treat AI like a capable junior who takes everything you say literally. Good input yields good output, as programmers say: GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out).
- Provide context. In law, context is everything. To get useful responses, AI needs the same context you would need to avoid the reflexive: “It depends.” It is helpful to tell the AI who it is acting for, the project delivery model, etc. Those facts dramatically change what ‘good’ drafting looks like.
- Prompt example: “You’re assisting counsel for a design-build contractor on a public infrastructure project in Ontario (CCDC 14 with owner SCs). Flag owner changes that increase contractor risk and propose contractor-friendly alternatives.”
- Work step by step. Break tasks into stages.
- Prompts sequence example: “1) Give a high-level risk summary of owner amendments to CCDC 2 (time, price, scope, termination, dispute resolution). 2) Now focus only on time-related changes and propose three negotiation priorities for a low-float contractor.”
- Correct its mistakes. Iterate and clarify. Beware of errors and hallucinations.
- Ask for sources (and check them). Request citations for legal or jurisdiction-specific claims, then verify. Do not rely on summaries alone.
What Not to Do: Common Pitfalls
- For lawyers: Don’t copy-paste blindly. You remain responsible for accuracy, context, and judgment.
- For non-lawyers: Don’t treat AI as legal advice. In construction, a flawed contract can cost millions. Early expert input is cheaper than mid-project fixes.
Disclose AI Use Where Appropriate
Courts and regulators increasingly emphasize transparency about AI. For contracts, disclosure may not be mandatory, but openness builds trust if you remain in control of outcomes.
Final Thoughts
AI is a powerful, imperfect tool. For construction lawyers, it enhances efficiency and creativity but demands better data hygiene, clearer instructions, and sharper judgment. Use AI to think with you, not for you.