In short, no. In future-- maybe. For now, robot lawyers are still a dream of the distant, Star Trek future. AI (augmented intelligence- commonly misnomered as “artificial intelligence”) still has a long ways to go until so-called robot lawyers can come up with legal arguments and represent clients in court. (For a good lesson on how far AI can get on its own, creativity, wise, I suggest checking out this article about an AI told to come up with new Pantone color names. Anytime you feel worried about a robot taking over your job, just remember “Caring Tan.”)
However, AI is helping lawyers do work more effectively- AI can now be used to help draft contracts, check briefs for other similar cases the lawyer may have missed (for this, check out Ross Intelligence’s EVA tool, which is free!), and to perform comparative analytics using large datasets. I.e., AI-based legal research tools can help lawyers decide what type of motion to try in front of which judge in a certain jurisdiction, as it can provide the lawyer with analytics on Judge X and how often he or she grants certain types of motions, as compared to Judge X’s colleagues.
Basically, AIs are still run by their own programming, and they are not yet creative on their own- they are a tool that lawyers can use to help them form a competitive advantage or to help streamline work. This is just a scratch on the surface of AI and AI-based tools in the legal field, but it's a good place to start. Don't worry for your job yet, but definitely try some AI-based tools out to help you with your work!
Submitted by Emma E Babler on September 21, 2018
This article appears in the categories: Law Library
