How Artificial Intelligence Is Improving Vietnamese Law Practice

Artificial intelligence is quietly reshaping the way law is practiced in Vietnam. What began as a wave of technological experimentation has evolved into a profound shift in how lawyers read, reason, and deliver legal services. In a profession defined by precedent and precision, the integration of AI has brought not disruption but refinement — a deeper, faster, and more consistent approach to the daily work of Vietnamese lawyers.

For decades, legal work in Vietnam has been shaped by the rhythms of manual research and exhaustive document review. A mid-sized firm preparing a due-diligence report, or a corporate counsel reviewing dozens of supplier contracts, would traditionally spend days scanning provisions of the Bộ luật Dân sự 2015 (Civil Code 2015) or Luật Thương mại 2005 (Commercial Law 2005) to verify compliance, identify risks, and ensure that terms like “thanh toán”, “chuyển giao quyền sở hữu”, or “trách nhiệm bồi thường” were properly drafted. AI changes this foundation. A single algorithm trained on millions of Vietnamese legal documents — including codes, decrees, and court decisions (bản án, quyết định của Toà án nhân dân) — can now analyze hundreds of pages in seconds. A lawyer may ask an AI assistant to highlight all clauses lacking notice periods, or to compare limitation of liability terms against the Civil Code’s standards under Articles 351 to 360. What once took a team of associates can now be distilled into an instant, structured report.

Legal research has also become more fluid. In the past, searching for the right authority required navigating fragmented databases such as Cổng thông tin Pháp luật, Thư viện Pháp luật, or Công báo Việt Nam, often with limited search functionality. AI systems now allow lawyers to pose questions in plain Vietnamese — for example, “Theo pháp luật hiện hành, lãi suất chậm thanh toán trong giao dịch thương mại được tính như thế nào?” — and receive contextual answers that reference specific provisions, such as Article 306 of the Luật Thương mại 2005 on interest for late payment, or Article 357 of the Bộ luật Dân sự 2015 on default obligations. The result is not only efficiency, but accessibility: legal knowledge that was once locked behind technical syntax becomes conversational, navigable, and transparent.

The implications extend well beyond research. As Vietnam deepens its global trade commitments under the CPTPP, EVFTA, and RCEP, compliance standards are becoming increasingly complex. AI tools can track and interpret new regulations across multiple domains — from the Luật Doanh nghiệp 2020 (Law on Enterprises 2020) to the Luật Bảo vệ Môi trường 2020 (Law on Environmental Protection 2020) — alerting lawyers and clients when legislative changes affect corporate obligations. For example, a system might detect amendments to Nghị định 13/2023/NĐ-CP on personal data protection and generate a summary of what companies must adjust in their internal policies. This kind of continuous monitoring transforms compliance from a reactive exercise into an ongoing, preventive discipline.

AI also plays a vital role in bridging Vietnam’s legal and linguistic divides. Vietnamese legal language blends traditional administrative phrasing with French-influenced civil law terminology. Translating or comparing contracts between Vietnamese and English versions often requires both linguistic nuance and legal accuracy. AI translation models fine-tuned for legal contexts can now handle complex bilingual drafting — converting an English shareholder agreement into precise Vietnamese legal form without distorting terms like “indemnity,” “assignment,” or “governing law.” This capability benefits firms advising foreign investors, banks conducting cross-border financing, and arbitration lawyers working under both Luật Trọng tài Thương mại 2010 (Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010) and international conventions.

Perhaps the most promising aspect of AI in the Vietnamese legal landscape is its educational power. For young lawyers, it serves as a mentor that explains not just what a clause says but why it exists. Instead of memorizing the articles of the Bộ luật Lao động 2019 by rote, a student can ask an AI assistant to compare how dismissal procedures differ under Articles 125 and 126, or to explain how the law evolved from the 2012 version. This kind of interactive learning cultivates analytical thinking rather than mechanical recall, preparing the next generation of lawyers to blend legal reasoning with digital literacy.

Yet, as in every jurisdiction, the rise of AI brings ethical and professional responsibilities. Vietnamese lawyers are bound by duties of confidentiality and prudence. The Luật An ninh mạng 2018 and its implementing Nghị định 53/2022/NĐ-CP impose strict obligations on data storage and personal information security. When law firms use AI systems that process client contracts or litigation materials, they must ensure that data remains within compliant servers and that algorithms are transparent in their reasoning. The lawyer, not the machine, remains accountable for professional judgment. AI may summarize, predict, or suggest — but it cannot represent, negotiate, or assume liability. Human oversight, disclosure, and verification remain non-negotiable pillars of legal ethics.

What is emerging, then, is not a replacement of legal expertise but its amplification. By allowing algorithms to handle mechanical tasks — scanning contracts, mapping risk, retrieving citations — lawyers can focus on strategy, negotiation, and client counsel. The integration of AI into Vietnamese law practice mirrors the country’s broader digitalization: government agencies are digitizing case archives; courts are adopting e-filing; and startups are creating specialized platforms that blend legal databases with natural-language reasoning. Together, these developments signal a new era — one where technology and jurisprudence evolve in tandem.

Artificial intelligence is not just marginally improving the Vietnamese legal profession; it is refining it significantly. It gives lawyers the means to interpret the Bộ luật Dân sự, Luật Thương mại, and every accompanying decree with unprecedented clarity and speed, while preserving the distinctly human qualities of reasoning, judgment, and advocacy. As Vietnam continues its transformation into a digitally mature economy, the law too is becoming more intelligent — not because machines are taking over, but because lawyers are learning to work alongside them.