Digital White Papers

22 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER POTPOURRI Reframing the AI Question in Law But in access to civil justice — the ability of all citizens to secure representation and enforce their rights in a timely manner — the U.S. lags far behind other developed nations. This is particularly evident with the poor, but similar problems plague even the middle class and small business. Lawyers are too expensive and too busy and courts are too clogged to serve our citizenry. And therein is the opportunity for AI, indeed for any advanced technology. Lawyers, law firms and courts need to fundamentally alter and improve their service models. It may be that corporate clients, for all their complaints about the disconnect between legal fees and value provided, have not reached the pitchfork and fire brand stage yet. They're not burning down firms. But radical changes in the service model are nonetheless afoot. On the corporate side, the emergence of blockchain technology in aid of large financial institutions is probably the most significant change in the legal service model. It may not have captured much market share yet, but it's as important to the legal trade as automated looms were to weavers in Ned Ludd's day. On the consumer side, even more is happening. Entities like LegalZoom have invented a new infrastructure for the delivery of legal services. Simple contracts, wills, leases, and other legal instruments are available online and a small fraction of the cost of consulting a Main Street lawyer. And LegalZoom, RocketLawyer and others have set their sights on small businesses, too. So, where is AI in all this? Here's the thing: for all the worrying about robot lawyers, AI is but one tool in repaving the entire legal service world. Every one of the so-called "exponential" technologies will come into play in some way — even 3-D printing (which should come to bear in patent modeling, at a minimum). In the same way that we don't need to worry how VR headsets will play out in law practice, we don't need to worry exactly how Watson, ROSS and other AI practice aids will be used. Does it maer that LegalZoom may not, strictly speaking, use AI to deliver its services? No, the real transformation it presages is in the legal service model. That's what needs our focus. Rather than focusing on the particulars of AI, lawyers, legal technologists and others with impact on how services are delivered need to be developing a real intention to shi the practice model. Once that intention is in place, then all available technologies, as well as other tools such as modern project management techniques, should be employed to radically change the user experience of clients. If corporate clients' most frequent complaint is that lawyers don't return calls and can't be found when needed, then maybe that is an opportunity for AI, or for any other more pedestrian technology. The reception desk that served well in Alexander Graham Bell's day may not meet the needs of today's clients. So automate it. Maybe with AI, maybe with something more mundane. And stop worrying about robot lawyers. Instead, start doing something about your service model. Or we might actually need robot lawyers. ILTA JOHN ALBER John Alber is retired and currently living aboard the 50-foot trawler Barefoot Lady in U.S. and Caribbean waters. John also serves in a volunteer capacity as a futurist for the International Legal Technology Association. For the 16 years prior, he served as Bryan Cave's strategic innovation partner. The groups under his leadership received widespread recognition for developing innovative client-facing technologies, legal operations solutions and alternative staffing models. Contact John at john@ johnalber.com. This article was first published on the rethinking.legal blog and is reprinted here with permission.

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