AI and Legal Fees: Why A Lawyer's Judgment Is One Thing AI Can't Replace
I run a small firm, and I use AI every day. Often for routine work that can result in savings for the client. This is the part I'm happy to write about.
The part that's less thrilling is that recent conversations I'm having with clients are not really with my clients. They're with the models my clients are consulting.
A client sent me an email recently that was carefully organized, with bolded subheadings, a numbered list, and a "Next Steps" section at the bottom. But it did not contain a single fact I could use. I knew within the first paragraph they had not written it.
AI platforms do not know the status of a client's marriage, they don't know if a client gets along with their siblings, and they don't know the underlying reasons why a client is asking for advice.
They don't know, because they don't ask. Or if they do ask, they're not asking the right questions.
AI can create the first draft of a clause once I decide what it should say. It can't decide on its own what it should say.
The billable hour may soon be finished regarding administrative tasks, and that is fine. But the value of a lawyer was never in the typing.
It's in the judgment, the counsel, and the follow-up questions others don't think, or don't know, to ask.
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