Can AI Replace Lawyers?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere. Unless you have buried your head in a few feet of sand, you know that AI has seemingly made its way into every aspect of our lives. Supporters of AI praise it as the next big thing. Opponents express concern over its increased usage of electricity. People are concerned about data centers to support AI popping up in their communities. Let’s not even get into those who are proponents of AI who claim untold riches for those who embrace this magic elixir.

So, who’s right in the great AI debate? We likely won’t know for a while. Instead of trying to predict the future, let’s focus on a question more relevant to the here and now. Can AI replace your lawyer?

Key Takeaways

• AI is here to stay, and it’s either our downfall or the next big thing; time will tell what it is
• While AI does many things well, it’s flawed and has been known to provide the wrong answer legally, as well as hallucinated case law.
• There is no substitute for human intelligence and experience in arcane and specialized areas, and personal injury law is no exception.

What AI Does

AI can be really good at pretending to be an independent thinking technology. The reality is very different. It’s a predictive technology. It uses prior information to predict what the correct “answer” is to something. That means no wholly original thoughts.

Maybe you ask it about the most points in an NBA game. AI will scrub all prior information on the internet and other sources. It will look at pretty much anything ever produced, published, or posted. This information is then used to come up with the answer it provides. It happens to be Wilt Chamberlain, one of my childhood heroes, who scored 100 points in 1962 in one game.

Hallucinations

But then again, AI is not perfect. It has what are known as “hallucinations.” Several lawyers have experienced this firsthand recently. They depended on AI to prepare motions or briefs that were submitted to the court. Those documents cited completely made-up case law. AI claimed it was “found” for them. Needless to say, this is a very serious matter. Those who admitted that they had not bothered to check on the citations manually will surely be disciplined. They could even lose their law licenses altogether.

Statute vs. Case Law

The reason made-up cases are such a huge deal has to do with how our judicial system operates. Everyone is familiar with laws. These are statutes that are written, voted on, and put into effect. There are federal laws that apply to everyone. There are state laws that apply to people in that specific state. Then there could be more local laws at the county, city, or municipality level.

There is also another type of law, called common law. This is developed over time as judges hear and rule on cases presented to them. It essentially shapes how statutes are interpreted and applied to situations. In personal injury cases, it can define what negligence looks like. It could further define the level of care a property owner owes to visitors.

Previous case rulings impact how future cases are handled. If a lawyer fabricates cases, it can lead a court to incorrectly rule on a current case. It can completely change how a statute is applied. Eventually, there will be conflicting court rulings. The parties to those cases can appeal based on the incorrect law interpretation.

Chaos ensues.

The Prompt Dilemma

AI does a great job of doing things it is prompted to do. Say you want to take a trip to Seattle. You prompt your AI app “Plan a five-day driving trip to and around Seattle for a couple of food-savvy people in their thirties for around five hundred dollars a day,” and you’ll probably have maps, itineraries, restaurant recommendations, articles written about Seattle, and a boatload of information.

But if you prompt “do I have a personal injury case if I got into a car crash that was the other person’s fault,” you might get a lot of garbage. You might even get answers that give you information that is wrong in your jurisdiction. You have to know enough about law to know what to ask. It’s just like law school. The exams we took were hours long and often were our entire grade for a semester. Much of how we were graded was “issue spotting.” Spot what an issue is, talk about what the outcome should be based on the case law we studied, and why.

But if you don’t know enough about the subject of, say, contract law, you won’t be able to spot issues. It’s like asking someone who is not a doctor to diagnose why you’re having knee pain when you run. All they know is what they know, not what they’d need to know to actually help answer your question.

The Positive Response Skew

The majority of AI systems are designed to give positive reinforcement. If you ask “do I have a personal injury case if I got into a car crash that was the other person’s fault,” you are likely going to get a response that is a resounding “yes”. Part of the problem is how you asked the question. AI will know you want to have a personal injury case based on the phrasing.

It will also know that you want to win, because you already told it the motor vehicle accident was the other person’s fault. The output response will actively support both of these positions, whether that is legally correct or not.

Lawyers are trained not to do this. Throughout law school and careers, the best lawyers look at cases from all angles. They need to know what the other side is going to argue to prepare the right evidence and responses. AI misses this by focusing on supporting your position, rather than looking for ways to poke holes in your case.

AI and Law

Many people are convinced that what I do as a personal injury lawyer isn’t that difficult. To some extent, they’re right. What I do isn’t brain surgery or nuclear physics.

However, the law does have a lot of minutiae. It’s my job to know and understand how a personal injury case works. I need to understand how liability is assessed. It’s my job to know what types of injuries are worth what. I need to know what insurance coverage is and how it works. It’s my years of experience that help me know which insurers are good or bad.

Because I regularly represent clients that go to trial, I know how the process works and the rules that govern civil procedure and evidence. You can’t have a successful case if you miss basic deadlines or can’t get your evidence accepted by the court. These are all things I studied in law school for three years and have honed my craft further over the last thirty-six years.

Allow me to share one of my favorite college quotes. French Existentialist philosopher Gabriel Marcel was asked to explain Existentialism. His quote: “I can’t explain it; but if I had a piano, I could play it for you.” Mic drop, Mr. Marcel.

Personal injury law is a lot like that. There are liability limits, comparative negligence, right of way, time gaps in medical treatment, prior injuries, liens, super liens, and subrogation. And that’s just a few things I think about dozens of times a day. I take all of these moving parts, and I put them together to advocate for my clients.

If you don’t know all those subjects I mentioned in the last paragraph, how can you prompt AI properly? While AI can be a tool, you need to be the craftsman to properly wield that tool. Otherwise, you’re just using a hammer to secure a screw.

AI and Personal Injury

While AI can do a lot of things well (summarize 275 pages of medical records, prepare a letter to a debtor, write a thank you to your Aunt Jill for the ugly towels she got you for housewarming), it cannot replace years of training and experience. There is something gained by doing the same thing daily for decades. You just get really good at:

• Spotting issues
• Assessing cases
• Knowing exactly what has to be done
• Knowing what has to be proven
• Understanding how to do that.

Yes, you are free to prompt AI “Do I have a personal injury case in Illinois?” or similar. But you may not want to rely upon the answer.

Contact Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Stephen Hoffman

If you have been injured, whether by an auto accident, bike or pedestrian crash, dog bite, work accident, or medical malpractice, seek medical attention immediately. Report accidents to the police and your own insurance company, or to your employer if you were injured at work. Then contact a lawyer with experience in your type of injury matter.

When it’s time to seek compensation for your injuries or loss, don’t be tempted by the promises of AI. While it can do a lot of things, it can’t replace a lawyer. You need someone with real-world knowledge and experience who can analyze your case and provide accurate legal guidance.

If you have been in an accident and have questions, contact Chicago personal injury attorney Stephen L. Hoffman for a free consultation at (773) 944-9737. Stephen has over 35 years of legal experience and gets results; he has collected millions of dollars for his satisfied clients. He is listed as a SuperLawyer, has a 10.0 rating on Avvo, and is BBB A+ accredited. Stephen is also an Executive Level Member of the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce.

Stephen handles injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing up front, and Stephen only gets paid if you do. You have only a limited time to file a claim, so don’t wait another day; contact Stephen now to get started putting your life back together.