The debate surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal profession remains divisive. While AI has the potential to streamline legal processes and rapidly analyze vast amounts of data, concerns regarding biased data, accuracy, and accountability continue to cause unease.
The legal industry is particularly vulnerable to the impact of AI. A report by the UK’s Law Society in 2021 predicted a “savage reduction” in human jobs, and a study by universities in Pennsylvania, New York, and Princeton estimated the legal sector as the industry most likely to be impacted by AI.
Despite this, AI remains a valuable tool in researching and presenting cases. Although, incidents such as New York lawyer Steven Schwartz’s court hearing earlier this year, where he used AI system ChatGPT to research precedents for a case involving a man suing an airline over personal injury, can damage trust in such systems.
Ben Allgrove, the chief innovation officer at international law firm Baker McKenzie, believes that the real challenge lies in ethics and professionalism. His firm established a team of lawyers, data scientists, and data engineers to test new AI systems. However, he believes the vast majority of AI usage will come from using the new AI-powered versions of existing legal software providers like LexisNexis and Microsoft.
While the use of AI in the legal industry remains at an early stage, some systems already face legal challenges. DoNotPay, offering to fight parking fines and other citizen cases using AI, has faced a range of lawsuits, with the latest filing accusing the firm of practicing law without a license. As a result of Schwartz’s case, several senior judges in the US now require lawyers to disclose whether AI was used for court filings. However, defining and policing this requirement will be challenging.
Despite the uncertainties surrounding AI and the legal profession, Alex Monaco, an employment lawyer that runs a solicitor practice and tech firm Grapple, sees the potential for AI to democratize the legal profession and give people the tools to build their legal cases for free using widely available free AI tools. He believes AI “is not replacing humans, it’s not replacing lawyers. What it is doing is supercharging people’s understanding and implementation of their legal rights.
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