Preventive legal technology for micro-entities: Improving access to justice in commercial contract analysis

Abstract

This article explores how preventive law principles, originally developed by Louis M. Brown, can be integrated into generative AI tools to improve access to justice for micro-entities in commercial contract analysis. Micro-entities, often lacking the resources to afford legal counsel, face heightened legal risks when entering contracts. Existing AI tools largely cater to large firms, creating a two-tier system that leaves small businesses underserved. Through legal analysis and a legal design framework, this study proposes a conceptual AI-powered contract review tool that anticipates legal risks, enhances contract clarity, and ensures accessibility for non-lawyers. Key features include risk rating systems, plain-language summaries, alternative clause suggestions, and regulatory compliance alerts, all designed to empower micro-entities to navigate contracts more effectively. The article also addresses regulatory and ethical concerns, including AI bias, misinformation, and liability, and recommends strategies like human-in-the-loop validation, transparency measures, and iterative user testing to ensure responsible implementation. Future research should empirically assess measurable outcomes to validate the impact of preventive legal technology. By combining preventive law with modern legal technology, this research contributes to the growing paradigm of ‘preventive legal technology’, offering a pathway to enhance legal empowerment for micro-entities and close the justice gap.