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<article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/" article-type="research-article" dtd-version="1.2" xml:lang="en"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">RUDN Journal of Law</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title xml:lang="en">RUDN Journal of Law</journal-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Юридические науки</trans-title></trans-title-group></journal-title-group><issn publication-format="print">2313-2337</issn><issn publication-format="electronic">2408-9001</issn><publisher><publisher-name xml:lang="en">Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba (RUDN University)</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">51003</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.22363/2313-2337-2026-30-2-250-273</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="edn">DEUIZB</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="toc-heading" xml:lang="en"><subject>LAW AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="toc-heading" xml:lang="ru"><subject>ПРАВО И ЦИФРОВЫЕ ТЕХНОЛОГИИ</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="article-type"><subject>Research Article</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title xml:lang="en">Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in legal research: Editor’s insights</article-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>Искусственный интеллект в помощь юристам-исследователям: опыт редактора</trans-title></trans-title-group></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0495-0962</contrib-id><contrib-id contrib-id-type="researcherid">H-9968-2016</contrib-id><contrib-id contrib-id-type="spin">7794-4622</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Stepanova</surname><given-names>Valentina V.</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Степанова</surname><given-names>Валентина Витальевна</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>PhD in Linguistics, Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages</p></bio><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры иностранных языков, юридический институт</p></bio><email>stepanova-vv@rudn.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff-alternatives id="aff1"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">RUDN University</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Российский университет дружбы народов</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><pub-date date-type="pub" iso-8601-date="2026-06-30" publication-format="electronic"><day>30</day><month>06</month><year>2026</year></pub-date><volume>30</volume><issue>2</issue><issue-title xml:lang="en"/><issue-title xml:lang="ru"/><fpage>250</fpage><lpage>273</lpage><history><date date-type="received" iso-8601-date="2026-07-03"><day>03</day><month>07</month><year>2026</year></date></history><permissions><copyright-statement xml:lang="en">Copyright ©; 2026, Stepanova V.V.</copyright-statement><copyright-statement xml:lang="ru">Copyright ©; 2026, Степанова В.В.</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2026</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">Stepanova V.V.</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">Степанова В.В.</copyright-holder><ali:free_to_read xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/"/><license><ali:license_ref xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0</ali:license_ref></license></permissions><self-uri xlink:href="https://journals.rudn.ru/law/article/view/51003">https://journals.rudn.ru/law/article/view/51003</self-uri><abstract xml:lang="en"><p>The article examines the potential and limitations of using artificial intelligence (AI), primarily large language models, in legal research and editorial practice from the perspective of an academic journal editor. Its purpose is to show how AI can accelerate routine scholarly and editorial tasks (search and selection of sources, preparation of factual background, structuring and preliminary editing of texts), while simultaneously raising methodological, ethical and responsibility-related questions for the human author. Methodologically, the study relies on a qualitative, analytic-descriptive approach, grounded in the author’s own editorial experience with AI tools, targeted test interactions with neural networks for typical tasks of a legal researcher, and selective analysis of open materials illustrating risks and practices of AI use. The article presents examples of interactions between the researcher and a generative artificial intelligence system, serving as illustrative material for the formulation of prompts and the analysis of AI-generated responses across various stages in the preparation of a legal scholarly article. The article demonstrates that AI can significantly reduce the time needed to search and analyze large volumes of legal information and to bring the formal quality of a manuscript (structure, style, fact-checking) in line with high editorial standards, but that AI-generated output remains only an intermediate, auxiliary product that must be verified against primary sources and checked for the correctness of terminology and context (especially when translating from one language into another). Particular attention is paid to the uncertainty and potential error in empirical material compiled with AI assistance (for example, when aggregating cross-jurisdictional data on AI in courts), as well as to the dangers of uncritical reliance on automatically generated content. The conclusion argues that AI should be treated as an instrument supporting and enhancing the researcher’s and editor’s competencies rather than replacing them: the final decisions concerning content, interpretation and publication, as well as responsibility for the accuracy and reliability of the text, rest unequivocally with the human author.</p></abstract><trans-abstract xml:lang="ru"><p>Исследование посвящено анализу возможностей и ограничений использования искусственного интеллекта (ИИ), прежде всего крупных языковых моделей, в юридических исследованиях и редакторской практике с позиции редактора академического журнала. Цель работы - показать, каким образом ИИ способен ускорять выполнение рутинных научных и редакторских задач (поиск и отбор источников, подготовка фактического материала, предварительное структурирование и редактирование текста), одновременно порождая методологические, этические и связанные с ответственностью автора вопросы. Методологически исследование опирается на качественный, аналитико-описательный подход, основанный на собственном редакторском опыте автора работы с ИИ-инструментами, целенаправленных «пробных» взаимодействиях с нейросетями по типичным задачам юридического исследования, а также выборочном анализе открытых материалов, иллюстрирующих риски и практики применения ИИ. Приводятся примеры коммуникации исследователя с генеративной системой искусственного интеллекта в качестве иллюстративного материала формирования промпта и анализа ответов ИИ на различных этапах подготовки юридической научной статьи. Показано, что ИИ может существенно сокращать время на поиск и анализ больших объемов правовой информации и помогать приводить формальное качество рукописи (структура, стиль, фактчекинг) в соответствие с высокими редакционными стандартами, однако генерируемый им текст остается лишь промежуточным, вспомогательным продуктом, требующим верификации по первичным источникам, а также проверки корректности терминологии и контекста (особенно в переводе с одного языка на другой). Особое внимание уделяется неопределенности и возможным ошибкам при формировании эмпирического материала с помощью ИИ (например, при агрегировании межюрисдикционных данных об использовании ИИ в судах), а также опасности некритичного доверия автоматически сгенерированному содержанию. В заключение обосновывается, что ИИ следует рассматривать как инструмент поддержки и усиления исследовательских и редакторских компетенций, а не как их замену. Автор несет полную ответственность за содержание статьи.</p></trans-abstract><kwd-group xml:lang="en"><kwd>legal research</kwd><kwd>search and selection of sources</kwd><kwd>structuring and editing of text</kwd><kwd>methodological limitations</kwd><kwd>neural networks in law</kwd><kwd>manuscript quality</kwd></kwd-group><kwd-group xml:lang="ru"><kwd>юридические исследования</kwd><kwd>поиск и отбор источников</kwd><kwd>структурирование и редактирование текста</kwd><kwd>методологические ограничения</kwd><kwd>нейросети в юриспруденции</kwd><kwd>качество рукописи</kwd></kwd-group><funding-group/></article-meta><fn-group/></front><body></body><back><ref-list><ref id="B1"><label>1.</label><mixed-citation>Abràmoff, M.D., Tobey, D. &amp; Char, D.S. (2020) Lessons learnt about autonomous AI: Finding a safe, efficacious and ethical path through the development process. 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