Dec 11 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

End of the World if Lawyers Disappear?





Artificial intelligence and law bots could expunge a layer of lawyers

When Stephen Hawking pronounced that artificial intelligence could destroy the world, he probably was not thinking of the report that lawyers could be one of the inevitable casualties. In any case, that scientific advancement may cause the `structural collapse' of the system of legal firms by 2030 would not be generally ranked among the prime concerns of those apprehensive about robots taking over more and more human occupations, leading to the loss of two billion jobs, particularly those of teachers, vehicle drivers and factory workers. The damage cannot be underestimated in the legal area as well, as those likely to be affected right in the beginning would be on the lower rungs of the legal ladder -the associates -whose generally underpaid efforts form the bulk of the muscle of law firms. But if law bots replace them and do the drudge work for no pay , no promotions and unlimited time -a dream situation for any employer -then the future of young legal eagles indeed appears to be dim.However, the prognostication that the big kahunas of the profession will then provide `real understanding and human insight' to their clients once the bots get the nitty-gritty out of the way sounds even more alarming. Given the lawyers' dubious record on that count, some clients may even prefer the law bots to begin at the top.