Page 26 - November 2019 BarJournal

FEATUREEXTRA

WHAT’S NEW IN

LEGAL TECHNOLOGY AND

WILL IT AFFECT HIRING?

BY SHAWNA ROSNER

rom banking to accounting, predictable costs will also mean there will be learn textbook law and provide immediate
industries have felt the impact more lawsuits and transactions, even among access to this knowledge. However, you
of technology but have endured. law firms’ existing clients.” cannot depend on a robot to make many of
In recent years we have seen the The average consumer may have a negative the crucial decisions of law. AI technology
Fadoption of artificial intelligence reaction to an increase in lawsuits. But it can cannot account for the human element
within law practice. However, the use of AI has be detrimental to corporate America when often required in law practice.
led many to question the future of attorneys. legal matters must be neglected due to cost. In addition to its inability to make human
When ATMs were first introduced, many In the short run, attorneys might make less judgment, it’s safe to assume that most high-
skeptics inaccurately assumed it signaled per transaction but will be able to serve more profile clients won’t want to be represented
the end of bank tellers. Reality has proven clients more rapidly. by a robot. Whether its the litigator with the
the opposite to be true. Today there are Heller added, “As a business owner, I best record to represent them in court or
twice as many tellers as there were before find myself in situations where I choose not the number one closer in town to secure the
ATMs. Technology often evolves into an to enforce a right (trademark, copyright, deal — the rich and famous want the best
indispensable assistant to the employee. contract, etc.) because the litigation costs just attorney money can buy. A robot that can be
Microsoft Excel didn’t eliminate the job of aren’t worth it. But if I knew a litigation would hired by any average person is too accessible.
an accountant. Instead, it simplified the task cost under $10,000 and have a good chance of
of accounting. success, I would weigh my options differently.” Why AI Will Benefit Lawyers
Technology allows us to adapt and We’ve seen a similar story within A comparison has been made between
improve our resource allocation. The task accounting. As basic accounting costs have the way AI will help lawyers and the way
of writing a letter, delivering it to the post lowered, accounting firms have been able autopilot assists pilots. The rise of autopilot
office, and waiting days for a reply has been to offer more services. Working alongside hasn’t eliminated the pilot’s job. Instead, its
streamlined to a few seconds required to robot lawyers, attorneys will be able to offer become a beneficial tool during flight.
send an email. more services, service more clients, and AI-document discovery tools have been
Without a doubt, AI is set to disrupt the focus on meaningful work. one of the biggest changes for lawyers.
way attorneys practice law. But the keyword Processing millions of documents and
is disruption rather than elimination. Why AI Won’t Replace Lawyers case files have allowed machine learning
AI integration has led to more efficient There’s a general understanding among to improve its algorithm. In shorter time
processes. One practical example is Google’s lawyers that practicing law requires AI-powered software has the ability to detect
AI-powered predictions. In 2013, Google interpretation. Unfortunately, not all matters and flag appropriate pieces of information
acquired the crowdsourced traffic app, can be defined as right or wrong. This is an within a file.
Waze. They’ve been able to incorporate the area where human discretion is required. Lawyers are intelligent people who
data provided by the app into their Google Even if equipped with the most advanced want to be challenged by their work. The
Maps algorithm to reduce user’s time spent algorithm, a machine cannot understand drudgery of pouring over mountains of
in traffic. Just as a traffic app allows users the gray areas of law that don’t have a paperwork is not their favorite part of the
to arrive at point B more efficiently, AI will definitive answer. job. Most lawyers would prefer to spend
allow lawyers to work more effectively. During law school, attorneys learn one their time doing work that is energizing and
In a recent Above The Law article, Jake of the most important things they’ll take rewarding. The ability to offload tedious
Heller pointed out one of the more obvious into their practice: to think like a lawyer. work that can be automated by a machine
repercussions of AI. “Not only will technology Through machine learning, an algorithm means lawyers get to spend more time doing
enable attorneys to address unmet legal needs becomes more complex, increasing its ability the work they enjoy and may even be able to
for the under-resourced; lower and more to account for certain variables. It is able to leave the office earlier.
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