AI-Powered Legal Assistance: Developing a Lawyer Chatbot

with Retrieval-Augmented Generation

Submitted By- Shreyan Rawal

Contents
AI-Powered Legal Assistance: Developing a Lawyer Chatbot with Retrieval-Augmented
Generation ................................................................................................................................................. 1
Submitted By- Shreyan Rawal ....................................................................................................................... 1
a) Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 2
b) Background......................................................................................................................................... 2
c) Expected Outcome and Deliverables ............................................................................................. 2
Expected Outcome: ......................................................................................................................... 2
Deliverables:...................................................................................................................................... 3
d. Project Risks, Threats, and Contingency Plan .............................................................................. 3
Risks and Threats: ........................................................................................................................... 3
Ethical Concerns: ............................................................................................................................... 3
e) Aim and Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 4
Aim: ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
Objectives: ......................................................................................................................................... 4
f) Methodologies for Project Development ........................................................................................ 5
Data Preparation: ............................................................................................................................. 5
System Development: ..................................................................................................................... 6
Testing and Evaluation:.................................................................................................................. 6
g) Selected Methodology .................................................................................................................. 7
h) Gantt Chart ......................................................................................................................................... 8
i. Work Breakdown Structure ........................................................................................................... 9
j. Milestones .......................................................................................................................................... 10
k. Conclusion......................................................................................................................................... 10
a) Introduction

The domain of interest for this project is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language
Processing (NLP). AI has revolutionized how we interact with technology, enabling
systems to comprehend and respond to human language. NLP, as a subset of AI,
focuses on bridging the communication gap between humans and machines. Within
NLP, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) stands out as a cutting-edge approach
that combines retrieval-based systems with generative AI to deliver accurate,
contextually rich responses. This project aims to utilize RAG to create a lawyer chatbot
that provides legal assistance by leveraging the Constitution of Nepal and related legal
texts.

b) Background

Legal literacy is essential, but the complexity of legal language and limited access to
affordable legal advice often act as barriers for the general population. The Lawyer AI
Chatbot is designed to address these issues by providing accurate, accessible, and
easy-to-understand legal information. This project leverages RAG to ensure that the
chatbot retrieves precise legal information and generates user-friendly responses. By
integrating a comprehensive database of Nepalese laws and a generative AI model, this
system will assist users in understanding their rights and obligations.

c) Expected Outcome and Deliverables

Expected Outcome:

A functional AI chatbot that:

Accurately answers legal queries based on the Constitution of Nepal.
Retrieves relevant legal articles and provisions.
Generates user-friendly explanations of complex legal texts.
Deliverables:

A functional Lawyer AI chatbot accessible via a web application.

A comprehensive database of legal documents embedded for retrieval.
Source code and technical documentation for the project.
A final report detailing the methodology, implementation, and evaluation.

d. Project Risks, Threats, and Contingency Plan

Risks and Threats:

Model Hallucination:

Risk: Generative AI producing inaccurate or misleading legal interpretations.

Mitigation: Limit the generative model’s output to strictly reference retrieved
documents.

Ethical Concerns:

Risk: Users relying on the chatbot for critical legal decisions.

Mitigation: Display clear disclaimers stating that the chatbot is for informational
purposes only.
e) Aim and Objectives

Aim:

To develop an AI-powered lawyer chatbot capable of accurately retrieving and

explaining legal information using Retrieval-Augmented Generation.

Objectives:

The primary objective of this project is to develop an AI-powered chatbot that provides
accurate and user-friendly responses to legal queries based on the Constitution of
Nepal. The chatbot will utilize a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) methodology to
ensure responses are factually grounded in legal documents while maintaining
conversational quality. This project aims to bridge the gap between legal knowledge and
accessibility, enabling users to obtain reliable information about their rights and
obligations efficiently.
f) Methodologies for Project Development

Data Preparation:

Extract and preprocess legal documents from PDFs into structured formats (JSON,
CSV).
Use embeddings to convert text into numerical vectors for retrieval.
System Development:

Implement the RAG pipeline:

Retrieval: Use a vector database (FAISS/Pinecone) for similarity-based search.
Generation: Utilize GPT-4 or a similar model for crafting responses.

Testing and Evaluation:

Evaluate system accuracy using metrics like Recall@k.

Ensure ethical usage through disclaimers and transparency.
g) Selected Methodology

The Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) methodology was selected for its ability to
combine:

Accurate retrieval of legal texts using embeddings and vector search.

Context-aware and user-friendly response generation with generative AI.
This hybrid approach ensures that the chatbot’s responses are both correct and
engaging.
h) Gantt Chart

Week Tasks

1 Research and collect legal documents

2 Preprocess and structure the dataset
3 Implement document embedding pipeline
4 Set up vector database for retrieval
5 Integrate GPT model for response generation
6 Build and test the chatbot interface
7 Perform system testing and evaluation
8 Finalize project and prepare reports
 i. Work Breakdown Structure

Data Collection and Preparation:

Extract text from PDFs.
Structure data into chunks and generate embeddings.
System Implementation:
Develop the RAG pipeline.
Integrate retrieval and generation components.

Interface Development:
Create a web-based chatbot interface.

Testing and Evaluation:

Perform functional and usability testing.
Collect feedback for improvement.

j. Milestones

Completion of dataset preparation (Week 2).

Successful implementation of retrieval pipeline (Week 4).
Full integration of RAG pipeline with chatbot interface (Week 6).
Final testing and deployment (Week 8).

k. Conclusion

The Lawyer AI Chatbot project addresses a critical need for accessible legal assistance.
By combining Retrieval-Augmented Generation with a robust legal database, this
chatbot will empower users with accurate and reliable legal information. With proper risk
mitigation and a clear development roadmap, this project has the potential to make a
significant impact in the domain of legal tech.