Will Robots and Artificial Intelligence Ever Make Lawyers Obsolete?

Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and some people in the legal field are already taking advantage of these technological capabilities. However, the extraordinary progress in legal AI technology has some lawyers worried about their prospects in their chosen profession, fearing that AI will soon replace them.

AI takes the routine out of legal work.

This fear is unfounded because it is challenging for AI and machine learning technology to replace the job of a legal professional. On the contrary, technology enables growth and productivity since it increases accuracy, making legal work more efficient.

AI algorithms can transform several tasks, offering excellent corporate compliance, contract management, discovery, and due diligence. Intelligent software is also better, cheaper, and faster for legal research, document retrieval, and predicting case outcomes.

Legal AI allows lawyers to focus on other cognitive tasks, and these are difficult to eliminate. Moreover, AI in the legal world cannot be ignored anymore because sooner or later, lawyers refusing to embrace it will be less efficient and productive.

Clients increasingly demand that their legal representatives and law firms embrace the technologies to offer enhanced services. This means that legal teams can offer their clients increased value and more sophisticated services. In addition, technology adoption allows lawyers to solve clients’ legal and business problems more effectively and efficiently.

Are legal jobs in danger?

According to Law Technology Today, even though technology can eliminate nearly half of all tasks, only 5% of these can be automated entirely. In numbers, that means that only 23% of a lawyer’s work can be automated. This means that routine legal tasks are either left to technology or non-lawyers. As a result, legal professionals have more time to work on jobs requiring their specialist and cognitive skills.

AI predictions can complement human insights.

AI certainly plays a more significant role now than ever before in predictions. This means that the role of human predictions for outcomes will slowly decline. However, this is not a bad thing for lawyers because the predictions from AI can complement human insights, increasing their value.

This type of advanced legal technology allows legal teams in law firms and legal departments the advantage of being positioned to deliver immediate insights, saving their clients time and money. Artificial intelligence also offers improved decision-making and enhanced efficiency.

Technology cannot replicate what lawyers are trained for, which includes more than their higher cognitive thinking. Lawyers rely on their independent professional judgment, always based on their ability to practice critical thinking and creativity. However, AI allows them to complete their work faster, more efficiently, and more accurately.

Concerns about AI affordability and training

AI solutions were initially more expensive to implement but are now far more affordable. Even smaller law firms can scale the available solutions and software to meet their needs.

Concerns about the effort and time required to implement AI initially prevented many legal firms from investing in the technology. However, as AI has become more mainstream, automated solutions are easier to use, requiring less training. There is no evidence that its implementation requires more work. AI improves productivity without requiring extensive training, and its accuracy means that fewer corrections are needed.

Because AI learns through training, the larger the data pool available, the better the AI performs. As a result, today’s AI technology is ready to implement when installed into an office system.

Final take

The legal profession has embraced technology and has been transformed by it. There are no indications that it is about to make lawyers obsolete. Clients still require the expertise and the professional judgment of specialized and qualified lawyers. However, those lawyers who adopt technology can leverage it to provide excellent, cost-effective legal services and representation for their clients. These lawyers will have a competitive advantage, ensuring growth for their firms.