'Aura is not just about efficiency, it is about justice': Northern Ireland launches first AI-powered legal assistant with game-changing potential
Developed by Ulster University researchers, ‘Aura’ uses advanced AI to streamline legal work and expand access to justice across the UK
Aura, Northern Ireland’s first AI-powered legal assistant, has been developed to transform how solicitors and clients interact with the UK legal system.
Built using advanced natural language processing trained on UK statutes, case law, and practice rules, Aura streamlines complex legal tasks such as drafting, research, and compliance, making legal services faster, more consistent, and more accessible.
Aura is designed to transform the way legal services are delivered, using advanced natural language processing (NLP) trained on UK statutes, case law, and practice rules. It automates core solicitor-level tasks such as drafting contracts, retrieving precedents, reviewing documents, and ensuring compliance with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) standards and UK GDPR.
Developed by Chaudhary Hamza Riaz, a former LLB Law student at Ulster University’s School of Law and recipient of multiple awards including Ulster University Convocation Undergraduate Student of the Year 2025, EDGE Excel Student of the Year 2025, and Good Relations Community Champion 2025, under the supervision of Dr. Usman Hadi at the School of Engineering, Ulster University, Aura is more than just a technological innovation, it represents a significant step towards democratising access to justice.
Independent evaluations demonstrated over 99% efficiency in document classification and a 93% reduction in time spent on initial case assessments compared with traditional methods.
Dr. Hadi said: "Aura is an excellent example of how interdisciplinary research across engineering, AI, and law can come together to improve access to justice for the masses.
"By integrating advanced NLP techniques with UK legal corpora, it demonstrates how technology can meaningfully support solicitors’ work and enhance the availability of legal services to wider society."
Chaudhary explained: "Aura is not just about efficiency, it is about justice. Too often, people are priced out of legal help or stuck waiting for months due to backlogs. With Aura, we wanted to build something that empowers solicitors to focus on complex work, while ensuring that ordinary people can access timely and reliable legal support. This is a proud milestone for Northern Ireland and the UK legal system."
This achievement marks a historic milestone for Northern Ireland as Aura becomes the region’s first AI-driven legal assistant. By eliminating repetitive administrative tasks, Aura frees solicitors to focus on complex and valuable legal work, helping to ensure faster, more consistent, and more accessible justice for all.
Read the full research paper at https://www.techrxiv.org/doi/full/10.36227/techrxiv.175632364.48017327/v1