Yes. An AI-assisted draft is an assembly and drafting aid, not a finished product. Solicitors retain their professional obligations to ensure the statement is accurate, complete, and compliant with CPR Part 32. Every draft must be verified with the witness and amended to reflect their actual recollection in their own words before the statement of truth is signed. LegalDocs Assist reinforces this with a CJC-aligned AI-use declaration block above the statement of truth and an assembly-not-generation discipline for trial statements.
Related: witness statement drafting software for UK law firms, covering automated CPR Part 32 compliance checks and the UK authority libraries behind every draft.
Can AI be used to draft witness statements for credit hire cases?
Yes, provided the AI tool is purpose-built with verified legal references and compliance checks. The output must still be reviewed, personalised, and verified by a qualified professional before use. Generic AI tools like ChatGPT risk fabricating case citations and producing non-compliant statements.
What is CPR Part 32 and why does it matter for witness statements?
CPR Part 32 governs the use of witness evidence in civil proceedings. It requires witness statements to be in the witness's own words, contain a statement of truth, and follow specific formatting rules set out in Practice Direction 32. Non-compliant statements risk being excluded or given reduced weight by the court.
Is it safe to use AI for legal work in credit hire cases?
It depends entirely on the tool. Generic AI chatbots will fabricate case names and invent legal principles. Purpose-built tools like LegalDocs Assist that draw from curated case law databases and include compliance checks are a different category entirely. The key test is whether the tool can cite its sources and whether those sources are verifiable.
See how LegalDocs Assist handles real credit hire scenarios.