ChatGPT Is Scarily Good At Answering Legal Questions
Advances in artificial intelligence might be able to make lawyers even more efficient in their jobs.
A month or two ago, I heard about a new artificial intelligence application called ChatGPT, with which I am sure many readers already have experience. I am not a tech person (so if any definitions or descriptions of the application are wrong, I apologize), but basically, ChatGPT allows users to ask the application questions or request that the application complete certain assignments, and the results are usually pretty impressive. The first few times I used ChatGPT, I asked it to write stories, say a joke, or used it for other playful purposes for which people typically use the application. I actually asked ChatGPT to write an 800-word article about the law in my tone of voice, but unfortunately, the application is not yet able to complete this task. At least I’ll have a job writing at Above the Law for the foreseeable future!
After a while, I decided to get more enterprising with ChatGPT. If the application could scan the internet for information and come to conclusions, was it possible for ChatGPT to answer questions about the law? Typically, lawyers need to conduct their own research by reading cases, secondary materials, and other documents, and the process can take hours or longer to complete. It would be revolutionary if there was an application that could spit out a concise answer to legal questions for legal professionals.
At first, I asked the application some basic questions, such as the elements of points of law and things like that, just so I could learn how the system operated. ChatGPT was able to spit out this information with ease, so I decided to ask it some more-nuanced questions. Those questions were central to legal issues I have been facing in my practice, and I had come to conclusions about the topics based on tons of research I conducted of caselaw and other authorities. I obviously need to be a little vague here for confidentiality reasons, but suffice it to say that the types of questions were very complicated, and were inquiries that lawyers typically ask other lawyers when seeking advice.
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To my surprise, ChatGPT answered almost all of my questions with ease! Of course, ChatGPT did not provide citations to cases or other authorities, and the information would be difficult to insert into a brief or other legal document. However, the answers could definitely set lawyers on the right track toward researching points so that they could have more confidence about the answers to a given legal question.
There has been some fear percolating in recent years about the impact that artificial intelligence can have on a number of trades and professions. Lawyers have not been immune from advances in technology. Indeed, predictive coding and other advances have made document review attorneys much less ubiquitous in the legal profession, and online legal research platforms fueled by technological advances have made many law librarians extinct. However, advances in artificial intelligence will likely not impact the majority of roles that lawyers complete, and of course, robots cannot represent people in court (yet!).
However, legal professionals should keep their ears to the ground about technological advances like ChatGPT so that they can best serve clients and be as efficient as possible with their work. I am not saying that the technology can replace the work of lawyers yet, but the use of artificial intelligence applications like ChatGPT can make it easier for lawyers to refine their research and focus their questions on the things that cannot be discovered through using applications. This might help lawyers avoid the broad research that typically accompanies any attempt to look into a new area of the law, since applications can provide some of the basic information about a legal query quickly and precisely.
It is also important to recognize that advances in artificial intelligence might be able to make lawyers even more efficient in their jobs. Just like ChatGPT can write a love letter or a Shakespearean sonnet in the voice of a 1920s gangster, there could someday be a time when such applications can write memorandums, opinion letters, and even legal briefs. Such documents would likely need to be reviewed by a human lawyer to ensure accuracy, but such advances could allow lawyers to focus on the specialized legal tasks that are then beyond the abilities of technologies.
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However, hopefully the technology won’t be able to replicate my tone and writing style just yet; I enjoy writing for Above the Law too much!
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.
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