Artificial
intelligence
has
been
pilloried
as
a
career
killer
across
several
industries,
especially
since
the
latest
version
of
ChatGPT
came
out.
The
legal
profession
has
not
been
immune,
and
with
ChatGPT
now
able
to
pass
the
bar
exam,
a
certain
amount
of
anxiety
is
warranted.
But
not
that
much
anxiety.
Do
you
know
how
many
clients
end
up
crying
during
meetings
with
their
lawyers?
It’s
a
lot
more
than
a
layperson
might
think.
I
see
many
such
scenarios
despite
my
practice
mostly
involving
litigation
over
seemingly
unemotional
things
like
business
disputes
and
easement
issues.
Let’s
see
a
robot
successfully
navigate
a
situation
where
a
sobbing
millionaire
who
is
paying
you
hundreds
of
dollars
per
hour
is
trying
to
direct
the
course
of
a
legal
dispute
while
some
dickbag
lawyer
on
the
other
side
attempts
to
stab
you
in
the
back
from
the
shadows.
Anyway,
I
digress.
The
point
is
that
we
are
a
long
way
off
from
AI
replacing
lawyers
entirely.
What
AI
will
do,
in
particular
large
language
models
like
ChatGPT,
is
replace
some
of
us,
and
some
of
what
we
do.
Artificial
intelligence
is
already
being
used
in
transactional
drafting.
Although
a
flesh-and-blood
lawyer
still
has
to
look
over
any
contract
or
other
legal
document
drafted
by
a
large
language
model,
I’m
willing
to
bet
that
the
first
drafts
spit
out
from
some
commercial
AI
services
are
already
better
than
what
you’d
get
by
having
a
very
green
associate
take
a
run
at
it.
Forms
of
AI
have
also
already
been
in
use
for
years
in
document
review,
once
the
purgatory
of
low-level
litigation
associates.
As
soon
as
artificial
intelligence
can
pump
out
a
reasonably
good
first
draft
of
written
discovery
requests,
well,
at
that
stage
maybe
even
a
codger
like
me
could
develop
feelings
for
it.
The
relationship
between
legal
professionals
and
increasingly
powerful
AI
technology
is
going
to
vary
wildly
though
based
on
where
you
are
in
the
legal
hierarchy.
Of
course,
there
is
some
truth
to
the
stereotypes:
older
lawyers
are
generally
not
as
comfortable
with
or
as
good
at
embracing
new
technologies
(silence,
youths,
we’re
doing
our
best).
Yet,
younger
attorneys,
despite
their
tech
savvy,
could
very
well
find
themselves
completely
displaced.
The
types
of
tasks
which
cannot
be
easily
outsourced
to
AI
—
client
management,
(cogent)
oral
arguments
in
court,
business
development
—
also
happen
to
be
the
more
desirable
types
of
legal
work.
These
tasks
are
already
hoarded
by
the
lawyers
powerful
enough
in
their
careers
to
hoard
them.
I
don’t
see
that
changing
anytime
soon.
A
modest
increase
in
attorney
positions
is
expected
by
2030,
according
to
the
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics.
Yet
the
majority
of
these
expected
positions
are
purportedly
going
to
be
created
not
through
organic
growth
in
the
legal
industry,
but
through
massive
waves
of
attrition,
attributable
to
retirements
among
older
lawyers
as
well
as
disillusioned
attorneys
leaving
the
profession
for
a
variety
of
reasons
unrelated
to
longevity.
A
partner
retiring
does
not
necessarily
translate
to
an
open
position
for
an
associate
right
out
of
law
school.
Additionally,
there’s
no
evidence
that
the
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics
knew
about
and
accounted
for
the
sorts
of
quick
advances
we’ve
seen
recently
in
large
language
models
—
advances
that
could
automate
many
of
the
tasks
traditionally
assigned
to
recent
law
school
graduates.
Demand
for
lawyers
dropped
in
2022.
Increased
adoption
of
advanced
AI
technology
is
poised
to
worsen
that
trend.
No
company
is
going
to
spend
hundreds
of
dollars
an
hour
on
outside
counsel
when
an
in-house
large
language
model
can
accomplish
the
same
ends.
Going
into
the
legal
profession
has
always
been
a
high-risk,
high-reward
situation.
If
you’ve
already
majored
in
history
or
political
science,
going
to
law
school
is
probably
the
best
way
to
heighten
your
income
potential.
That
being
said,
a
ton
of
people
who
go
to
law
school
don’t
pass
the
bar
exam.
A
ton
of
people
who
go
to
law
school
pass
the
bar
exam
but
still
can’t
get
a
decent
job.
A
ton
of
people
who
pass
the
bar
exam
and
get
a
decent
legal
job
nonetheless
find
that
they
absolutely
hate
the
work
of
being
a
lawyer.
The
legal
profession
has
always
paid
off
massively
for
a
few
lucky
individuals,
while
many
others
languish
in
misery
or
are
diverted
to
an
alternative
career
path.
Although
ChatGPT
isn’t
going
to
change
anything
about
that
general
dynamic,
it
probably
is
going
to
amplify
it.
Powerful
AI
won’t
demolish
the
legal
profession.
What
large
language
models
and
other
forms
of
AI
will
do
is
further
hollow
out
some
corners
of
the
legal
profession.
My
advice,
if
you
are
considering
law
school
as
legal
AI
is
increasingly
adopted:
Don’t
do
it
on
a
whim,
do
it
without
accumulating
a
massive
debt
if
at
all
possible
(affiliate
link),
and
recognize
that
it
is
going
to
be
incredibly
hard
work
with
no
guarantee
of
success.
In
other
words,
go
to
law
school
if
you
really
want
to
practice
law
—
otherwise,
don’t.
Jonathan
Wolf
is
a
civil
litigator
and
author
of Your
Debt-Free
JD
(affiliate
link).
He
has
taught
legal
writing,
written
for
a
wide
variety
of
publications,
and
made
it
both
his
business
and
his
pleasure
to
be
financially
and
scientifically
literate.
Any
views
he
expresses
are
probably
pure
gold,
but
are
nonetheless
solely
his
own
and
should
not
be
attributed
to
any
organization
with
which
he
is
affiliated.
He
wouldn’t
want
to
share
the
credit
anyway.
He
can
be
reached
at jon_wolf@hotmail.com.