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Ethics and Responsibility in Legal Tech: How Does Artificial Intelligence Influence Legal Advice?

April 30, 2026
The article shows how the startup Anita is tackling challenges in the legal tech sector using “Explainable AI” (XAI). This technology, developed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute, ensures transparency and prevents factual “hallucinations” through precise, verified source citations. Beyond technical reliability, Anita promotes the democratization of legal data to break up existing monopolies and improve access to justice. Named after the pioneer Anita Augspurg, the company strives to strengthen the rule of law by reconciling technological progress with high ethical standards and legal transparency.
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Ethics and Responsibility in Legal Tech: How Does Artificial Intelligence Influence Legal Advice?

The integration of artificial intelligence into the legal world is no longer science fiction. But as algorithms make their way into law firms, questions about transparency and reliability are also growing. How can we ensure that AI models do not generate “hallucinations” and uphold the high ethical standards of the legal profession?
A pioneer in this field is the startup Anita, whose co-founder, Til Bußmann-Welsch, has a clear vision: to transform the legal landscape through explainable AI.

The Trust Issue: Say Goodbye to the “Black Box”

In legal consulting, precision isn’t a bonus—it’s a fundamental requirement. Conventional AI models often operate as black boxes: you feed them data, receive an answer, but can’t trace the “thought process” behind it.

Anita sets a new standard here. Through Explainable AI (XAI), developed and patented in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute, the model’s thought process is made transparent. “It allows us to get rid of the black box and take a look inside the model’s thought process,” explains Til Bußmann-Welsch.

For lawyers, this means: trust through transparency. You can even instruct the model to use only verified sources in order to completely rule out the dreaded AI hallucinations (made-up facts).

Precision Through Accurate Citation

A critical aspect of the ethical use of AI is the source of information. In a field where every word counts, incorrect citations can be disastrous. Anita automates legal research from the search query to the drafting of the text, ensuring precise footnote citations.

  • Fact-checking: Every source is verified.
  • Accuracy: Higher standards without processing delays or additional costs.

Democratization of Data: A Fight Against Monopolies

One ethical issue in the German legal system is access to information. To date, only about 1% of all court decisions are publicly available. This has led to data monopolies held by large providers.

Anita is taking a collaborative approach to this issue:

  • Building a legal community where law firms share data.
  • Creating a counterbalance to existing monopolies to make access to justice fairer for all stakeholders.

A Name with a Mission: The Legacy of Anita Augspurg

The company’s name is no coincidence, but rather an ethical statement. It pays tribute to Anita Augspurg, the first German woman to earn a doctorate in law. Since women were not permitted to pursue doctoral studies in Germany at the time, she had to go through Switzerland to achieve her goal and spent her life fighting as a human rights activist.

This story reflects our deeper purpose: “We don’t just want to build a company that provides a service for lawyers. We want to support democracy and the rule of law by making the legal system more transparent and accessible.”

Conclusion

The responsibility in legal tech lies in using technology not as a substitute for legal reasoning, but as a tool to promote greater justice. With approaches such as explainable AI, Anita demonstrates that technological progress and fundamental ethical values can go hand in hand to make the legal world future-proof.

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