Sorry, a Robot Is Not About to Replace Your Lawyer!!!

[elleng]

'Impressive advances in artificial intelligence technology tailored for legal work have led some lawyers to worry that their profession may be Silicon Valley’s next victim.

But recent research and even the people working on the software meant to automate legal work say the adoption of A.I. in law firms will be a slow, task-by-task process. In other words, like it or not, a robot is not about to replace your lawyer. At least, not anytime soon.

“There is this popular view that if you can automate one piece of the work, the rest of the job is toast,” said Frank Levy, a labor economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “That’s just not true, or only rarely the case.”'

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/19/technology/lawyers-artificial-intelligence.html?

[Loki Liesmith]

1. I'm working on it though

[guillaumeb]

2. How about English speaking lawyers from a foreign country?

What prevents anyone from being qualified to practice in the US and in Pakistan, for example?

It would be one way for a corporation to lower costs as they have done for IT work.

[elleng]

3. Nothing prevents anyone from being qualified to practice in the US and in Pakistan.

ADMISSION to practice is established by each state.

[msanthrope]

7. Well....a shitload of rules does. But I'll let you finish. nt

[elleng]

15. Not as such,

but as I said, each state writes it's own rules. You may finish.

[msanthrope]

19. you should keep up with the rest of your thread.nt

[elleng]

20. I have done so.

As I said originally, and I affirm here, each state comes up with it's own rules.

[msanthrope]

25. Well, um, yes. Was that even a question​?nt

[msanthrope]

6. Nope. nt

[guillaumeb]

8. So a Pakistani lawyer could not qualify for the bar in a state and live here and in Pakistan?

And could that lawyer have some work done in Pakistan to cut labor costs?

[msanthrope]

9. Which state? nt

[guillaumeb]

10. Since this is a question, you select the state.

Are you an attorney?

[msanthrope]

11. Yes. Now, CA allows for the reading of the bar. They gave us

Orly Taitz. Other then CA, I can't imagine another jurisdiction does not require an American accredited Law School, and passage of the bar.

[treestar]

18. And does one have to be a US citizen or at least permanent resident.

Check this out:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/02/justice/california-immigrant-lawyer/

They actually ruled an undocumented immigrant can be admitted to the Cal. bar.

Though if truly undocumented, once they worked it would be unauthorized employment. They'd have to go into practice on their own as most law firms would not employ someone undocumented, since they'd be subject to fines.

page 12 of this - a surprising number of states allow graduates of foreign law school to take the bar

http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/misc/legal_education/2015_comprehensive_guide_to_bar_admission_requirements.authcheckdam.pdf

[msanthrope]

21. Foreign students can take the bar.....

that's different someone who is qualified in a different Nation entirely.

[treestar]

14. I think they have done that

hire English speaking Indians to do paralegal or clerical work, even legal research. They don't even have to be lawyers there.

But if they are to be qualified in the US they would have to come to the US and take the bar exam and would likely prefer to remain in the US to practice than go back to Pakistan to work for a firm here.

[guillaumeb]

16. Thank you.

Given the corporate mania for cost cutting, this seems to be a logical choice.

[msanthrope]

22. anyone can be hired for paralegal work. you don't need a degree. nt

[elleng]

17. Right.

Thanks.

[Shrike47]

4. It takes a well-programmed robot to read a judge.

I don't think they're quite there yet.

[elleng]

5. Probably not!

[former9thward]

26. What if the judge is a robot?

It would be easy to program a robot with all the relevant case law and precedent.

[treestar]

27. hmm they could cough it up

but how would the robot decide?

[Blue_Warrior]

12. Just watch...

Public defenders will be replaced with robots first. The innocent poor get the shaft again.

[treestar]

13. At some point an analysis has to be done

Someone said why not put all the laws online and just let people find and apply them. That takes a mind that has never seen anything that is not just black and white.

A lawyer is also advisor and counselor.

Robots do surgery too, but a doctor has to be in charge of it. The robot would not know how to diagnose.

Human affairs require the use of the human mind at some point.

[msanthrope]

23. we already have that... It's called pro se. nt

[marybourg]

24. They can't quite yet

completely replace a vacuum cleaner, let alone a lawyer.

(But I love my vacuuming robot, even if I do have to take out the old-fashioned kind once in a while).