In 1984, a certain movie (and its increasingly awful sequels) imagined a fictional world with true artificial intelligence. Set in 1997, it told the story of Skynet, a revolutionary AI system that humanity invented to boost its military capabilities. Unfortunately, the system became self-aware within weeks. Once we humans realized we were in over our heads, we desperately tried to shut it down. But it was too late. Skynet reduced the world to cinders; throngs of gun-toting super robots then roamed the planet, crushing human skulls underfoot. In the end, the only solution was to send a cyborg back in time to team up with a human vigilante and blow up Skynet before it went online. Though I’m pretty sure that didn’t work out very well.
Thankfully, those events have not come to pass in our world. Powerful AI, however, does exist. As lawyers, we have no choice but to learn how to use and leverage that technology. At the same time, we have to appreciate what modern AI can’t do—at least, not any time soon—because the lawyers who master those skills will thrive in coming decades. The way things stand right now, many of us lawyers view AI from the wrong perspective. Some see it as a threat to our profession, while others view it as unimportant or unreliable. Those attitudes need to change, so we can begin adapting to the new reality.
The promise of modern AI
To really understand the potential of AI, it’s best to start at the source. In this in-depth interview, the team behind OpenAI and the massively powerful ChatGPT discussed their groundbreaking creation. No one denied the obvious risks: that AI might spread harmful misinformation, threaten human safety and lead to widespread job losses. But the team encouraged people to look at AI as a tool that can elevate humanity and bring it to the next stage.
Now, I understand why lawyers might feel especially nervous. Our work has to be credible and accurate, so chatbots that invent nonsense have no value. And given that ChatGPT-like technology will have the ability to produce actual legal documents—leases, shareholder agreements, factums—it’s reasonable to worry that AI will start coming for our jobs. I don’t want to ignore those risks or uncritically accept the OpenAI company line. On balance, however, I also share their optimism when it comes to AI’s power and potential.
The first reason is that, in my view, AI is less likely to steal our jobs than it is to help us complete the most mundane items on our to-do lists a lot faster. I’m not alone. A recent survey asked various professionals around the world—in industries such as law and accounting—how AI may impact their productivity. On average, the respondents predicted that AI will free up four hours of time each week within the next year, eight hours within three years and 12 hours within five years. The professionals expressed a collective desire to “reinvest some of this time back into work and professional development, thereby fostering innovation and maintaining work-life balance.” In that same survey, 72 percent of lawyers called AI a “force for good” in the legal profession. Meanwhile, a number of law firms (especially the largest ones) have made significant investments in AI and expect to increase that spending in order to stay competitive.
So the message is clear: AI is here to stay, law firms will continue to adopt it and the profession has begun to see this shift in a predominantly positive light. Against that backdrop, it’s time for lawyers to start cultivating a strong familiarity with the latest technology. If you’ve fallen behind, start using tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity in your daily life. You can’t yet depend on AI for substantive legal work, but it can help with routine tasks like basic research or proofreading. Take the time to explore how using AI for simple tasks can boost your overall productivity—and set yourself up for success in the years ahead. (Of course, always double-check the work yourself. AI is known to make some pretty bizarre mistakes.)
The lawyer of the future
As I mentioned above, AI is on the cusp of acquiring some pretty stunning capabilities. The tech industry is already piloting tools that can draft legal documents, analyze contracts and predict the likelihood that a lawsuit will win in court. If AI has the capacity to produce solid legal work—and that outcome seems almost inevitable—clients will need lawyers who can complement that technology with the human touch.
Here’s an example of what that might look like in the not-too-distant future. Perhaps you have a client, a medium-sized business, that’s considering starting a lawsuit. Naturally, you ask a sophisticated AI algorithm to forecast the probability of a courtroom victory. It spits out 50 percent. That number, on its own, isn’t that helpful. To recommend a plan of action, you need more information. What is the client’s appetite for risk? Can it afford to gamble on the judicial equivalent of a coin flip? Is the company open to settlement discussions to resolve the issue outside of court? Does it understand the nuances of a court action or the risk-benefit analysis? The only way to answer those questions is to build a strong, trusting relationship with the client. Remember, as lawyers, we’re advisors first and foremost, and clients will always count on us for that. We can’t outsource that responsibility to a robot.
In order to fit in and thrive in this new world, my advice is simple: hone your ability to connect with clients. Visit their offices. Invite their in-house counsel to lunch. Get to know the companies and organizations that you deal with. If you’re a junior lawyer, this could be a difficult assignment. Despite my past objections, the profession continues to tell new lawyers to keep their “heads down, focus on the task at hand and concentrate on conquering the steep learning curve.” But it’s possible to push back against that norm. As a starting point, ask for permission to sit in on client meetings, examinations and other tasks that require direct contact. To accomplish this goal, you may have to volunteer some of your time rather than bill for it, but think of it as an investment in your future—and a crucial first step in developing an increasingly important skill set.
We’re currently a long way from anything resembling the fictional world of Skynet. But we do know that AI has advanced a lot in recent years. With a great deal of certainty, we can say that this new technology will affect us in many important ways. So we need to take it seriously, learn how to use it to our advantage and focus on the tasks that will help us stand out when the AI revolution truly hits its stride.
Daniel Waldman is a partner Dickinson Wright LLP. He writes about career satisfaction and business development for Precedent.