Can Implications of AI in Law Replace Human Lawyers?
‘AI lawyer is such a machine….’
Wait. You just thought, am I out of my mind, right? But these are going to be the few initial words for defining the term ‘lawyers’ in the future. Yes, gradually, we are approaching the era of ‘AI lawyers.’
Although it reminds us of sci-fi stories, which is already existing in the real world. Artificial intelligence is breaking many boundaries daily, and with time it will break more when it comes to the legal industry. Though it may take some time, it's not that far yet. The holly initiation was already taken by Joshua Browder, the founder of DoNotPay Robot Lawyer, in 2025.
With innovations in Artificial Intelligence speeding up, it was evident that AI would begin integrating itself into every industry it can improve upon. This is undoubtedly the case with the legal industry recently.
Even though small-size lawmakers have been using artificial intelligence in law, its usage was limited to conducting just legal research. But all that could and probably will change if recent advancements are taken into context for big law firms.
AI lawyers who can function as defendants' courtroom assistants are the next big thing in the legal industry. Businesses such as DoNotPay provide these artificially generated robots for those in need at a significantly lower cost. In fact, the world’s first robot lawyer is knocking on the door of the courtroom to defend his human client. But it is facing some challenges on its way.
This blog will focus on artificial intelligence in lawmaking practices and the recent advancements in law through AI technology.
Let’s consider the implications of AI lawyers in the legal industry.
The upside of AI lawyers in the legal industry
Regarding the involvement of AI in law, there are some areas where AI lawyers can enhance the productivity and efficiency of the legal framework. AI helps maintain efficiency and proper documentation. It helps firms to advance their research and development practices.
AI has successfully helped lawyers to become fast and reliable in their practices. AI lawyer also aids the clients in benefitting from reduced extra charges that were being taken for the amount and duration of paperwork.
Look at the following use cases of AI in the legal system.
1. Legal research and E-discovery
Legal professionals can quickly scan and obtain relevant information about a court case or claim using AI-powered software. E-discovery software uses specific parameters or search words for document review. AI lawyers can provide instant responses to search requests. Usually, this process is quite lengthy in the present day. They can, in turn, use their extra time to conduct more relevant searching.
Similarly, artificial intelligence-powered legal research software allows lawyers to understand precedents in a particular case by scanning significant regulations, jurisdictions, case laws, and more databases for knowledge gathering. The research is effective by generating results directly from relevant case details.
2. Due diligence
Contract reviews before entering into legal proceedings with a client can take significant time. These documents need to be reviewed carefully beforehand. AI-based software can help legal professionals pull up specific documents, saving time. This work can be done in seconds.
The software can also spot modifications in the documents, making it an efficient tool. Law practitioners can easily find copyright infringements and other illegal activities in documents. Although getting a final review from a human is better, as the software can make mistakes, it is still time-saving.
3. Litigation analysis
AI-boosted legal tools help develop the proper documentation for a lawsuit. It will review the precedents and help lawyers develop accurate and appropriate documents. Whether litigation is viable or not and the value of a lawsuit is an important task to be done beforehand.
4. Documentation
Storing documents in an electronic format provides challenges in finding and sorting. AI-based software can tag documents and profile them accordingly for easy storage and retrieval. They provide security by enabling document IDs and check-in/check-out privileges. It is an efficient way to produce legal documents such as letters, bills, agreements, etc.
The Downside of Artificial Intelligence in Law Practices
1. Unemployment
It is a primary concern for lawyers and everyone whose jobs can be done by AI with the same efficiency. It might look like a negative effect of job loss at first, but a significant turnover in the industry is seen, as well as an improvement in job satisfaction.
This, in turn, comes on a positive note as new and better opportunities arise for professionals to showcase their skills rather than the menial jobs they were doing in the past. So, lawyers, who are highly skilled in various AI tools associated with law practices, will be in higher demand than traditionally skilled lawyers. The law sector will also be open for AI and ML expert vacancies.
2. Affordability
Only big law firms can purchase the software, to begin with. Those who can afford AI-powered legal tools will benefit from cost savings and quick analysis. This will create a situation where surviving in the market will become a bit questionable for those who can't afford it.
This is a viable outcome as the price for such software will not be less. Even if you purchase the software, the overhead cost of maintaining and handling various clients seems like it could be more financially feasible.
3. Dependability
Machines, as we all know, could be more dependable. A small error in the AI system can cause the practitioners major damage to their reputations. This may become a significant threat to the dependability of such software to handle sensitive cases.
The software can also be vulnerable to cyber threats, which can cause major havoc. Indian legal firms face cyber attacks, which result in the loss of private data on clients and the firm's side. Thus, data protection also becomes a major issue. However, authorities claim that AI helps against cyber threats by learning and improving from past experiences.
The situation with DoNotPay's AI lawyer
There was a time when AI-generated lawyers were an afterthought. But AI lawyers are a reality now, as we can observe from DoNotPay's attempt to present an AI lawyer in the courtroom.
If you didn't know the case with the AI-powered robot lawyer, here's a brief.
DoNotPay, a NewYork-based startup, developed an AI lawyer to fight cases in courtrooms. But yes, the robot lawyer will not be present in physical courts but will mainly assist the defendant through bluetooth microphones on the spot.
How does it work?
The defendant will wear a speaker and smart glasses. The smart glass will document the court proceedings, and based on that input, the robot will dictate the defendant's responses using its advanced AI and ML technologies.
It works similarly to ChatGPT and DaVinci, both of which use AI text generators and large language models to understand human language. Technologies like OpenAI GPT-3 can easily mimic human language patterns and perform human tasks such as writing codes and poetry.
However, DoNotPay's innovation would be the first to experiment with its usage in a real-world scenario.
What went wrong?
The AI robot lawyer was ready to defend a small parking ticket case in a court in the US on 22nd February 2023. Seeing it was a first-of-a-kind case, it was exciting to see what would happen. Such as how successfully the artificial intelligence lawyers can defend in court, how the defendant will respond to the instructions, will the AI present and follow correct legal procedures, etc.
However, due to several technical and legal reasons, many states barred the usage of AI lawyers.
The technology is now used in other areas, such as helping those struggling with medical expenses, unwanted subscriptions, and troubles with credit reporting agencies.
Final Note
AI Lawyer is a possibility in today’s world, although we must consider its implications in the real world. But the hard truth is that software cannot replace humans in legal fields and will always require a human presence in its activities. Combining artificial intelligence and law can provide a better and more accurate way of implementing lawmaking practices enhancing the overall experience.
The benefits of AI-boosted law practices outreach the negatives, even though many lawyers may disagree. Combining artificial intelligence and law presents many challenges, but it is worth the effort. Learning this type of technology can do wonders for your career. If you are interested in AI, you can pursue a similar project.
You can check out the advanced artificial intelligence program. This course's USP is the abundance of trending and advanced ML and deep learning use cases. Such use cases not only give you a clear idea of the demand for deep learning technology but also prepare you for the highly competitive ML job market.
