There is nothing scarier than catching a judge asking ChatGPT if someone is guilty or innocent.
Online, there is an abundance of cautionary tales regarding lawyers’ uses of AI in court. A lawyer who cited a fictitious case in his pleading received a $2,000 sanction. The court ruling was not so generous for one Australian lawyer, who lost their license following their use of artificial intelligence.
Since its creation, legal professionals have developed and honed AI tools for legal functions. These uses include, but are not limited to, legal research, e-discovery, legal review tools, transactional analysis, document management, and client services. A Goldman Sachs report found that over 44% of legal tasks can be automated using artificial intelligence. Because of its rising impact, it is imperative to analyze all aspects of AI in the legal landscape.
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The primary concern regarding generative artificial intelligence is that it may produce false information which, at first glance, seems true. Such treacherous misinformation is called a hallucination. These hallucinations, if used, may play a role in someone’s sentence.
In law, accuracy is not simply strived for; it is demanded. The evidence presented in court must be reliable, as an individual’s case depends on it.
The integrity of AI, moreover, is only as good as the information it draws from. With an online world overflowing with biased information, it is no wonder that studies find artificial intelligence producing sexist, racist, and ableist results, amplifying human bias. Additionally, AI has been accused by multiple organizations of copyright violations.
Needless to say, there is a certain irony in lawyers committing a legal violation of copyright while prosecuting another criminal. Lawyers using AI must be careful to test their information, its reliability, its neutrality, and its originality.
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The Benefits of AI — It’s Just So Fast!
In spite of these drawbacks, we still find a growing presence of AI in the legal landscape for a multitude of reasons. Specifically, generative AI makes a lawyer’s life easier. Gone are the days in which lawyers must file through mounds of paperwork.
Instead, with a click of a finger AI can can scan databases to find proper material. AI can seamlessly scan databases to find proper material. It can draft motions, a document that normally takes lawyers days to write, in mere seconds.
The convenience of artificial intelligence means that lawyers could potentially cut back on the time they take to prepare for a case, meaning more clients for the lawyer and less money for the clients. In the future, clients will be able to make use of AI for per se legal documents. For instance, artificial intelligence could help a mistreated tenant file a claim against their landlord.
AI has made the legal sector, which before was selective, more equitable for all individuals. With continued development, AI could change the legal system for the better, making it more efficient and accessible.
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What About Ethics?
Finally, when considering the use of AI in the legal landscape, one must not overlook the ethical implications. When a lawyer enters their work into a platform, they put their client’s personal information at risk. Lawyers may also neglect to ask their clients’ consent when using artificial intelligence, often out of fear of having their work methodology questioned.
This concern has some basis. While lawyers have knowledge and training in the legal field, their competence comes into question when they rely on artificial intelligence.In light of these concerns, lawyers must strictly adhere to Article 17 of the International Code of Conduct and put their clients’ needs—their rights to privacy and fair service—before their own.
How is This Relevant to YOU?
Teens who hope to pursue a vocation in law need not be concerned with an AI takeover of the industry. Conversely, AI offers the next generation of lawyers a plethora of helpful, time-saving resources. Essentially, AI will take over the "boring" tasks which consume a large majority of lawyers’ time and instead allow them to focus on court cases, problem-solving, and most importantly, client interaction. Moreover, the mass use of AI in the economy leads to a whole new sector of law regarding AI regulation and policy, meaning that AI will drive the demand for lawyers higher.
And so, while as a first response we tend to recoil at the thought of AI in any sort of practice, evidence suggests that it could have a net positive impact. Maintaining the ethical, factual use of AI is critical in law, a sector based on transparency and legality. However, when used correctly, AI should be viewed as a tool in court as useful as a podium or a gavel.
