AI-based Legal Technology: A Critical Assessment of the Current Use of Artificial Intelligence in Legal Practice

Vol.15,No.2(2021)

Abstract

In recent years, disruptive legal technology has been on the rise. Currently, several AI-based tools are being deployed across the legal field, including the judiciary. Although many of these innovative tools claim to make the legal profession more efficient and justice more accessible, we could have seen several critical voices against their use and even attempts to ban these services. 

 

This article deals with the use of artificial intelligence in legal technology and offers a critical reflection on the current state of the art. As much as artificial intelligence proved that it could improve the legal profession, there are still some underlying risks connected to the technology itself, which may deem its use disturbing.


Keywords:
legaltech; legal technology; artificial intelligence; provision of legal services; robojudge

Pages:
279–300
References

Angwin J. and Larson J., Machine Bias. Propublica. 23 May 2016. Available from: https://www.propublica.org/article/machine-bias-risk-assessments-in-criminal-sentencing [Accessed 10 March 2021].

Bathaee, Y. (2018) The Artificial Intelligence Black Box and the Failure of Intent and Causation. Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, 31 (2).

Calo, R. (2018) Artificial Intelligence Policy: A Primer and Roadmap. University of Bologna Law Review, 3 (2). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3015350

Castelvecchi, D. (2020) Is facial recognition too biased to be let loose?. [online] nature. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03186-4 [Accessed 5 March 2021].

Corrales, M., Fenwick, M., Haapio H. and Vermeulen, E. (2019) Tomorrow’s Lawyer Today? Platform-Driven LegalTech, Smart Contracts & the New World of Legal Design. Journal of Internet Law. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6086-2

Danzinger, S., Levav J. and Avnaim-Pesso, L. (2011) Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108 (17). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1018033108

Dastin, J. (2018) Amazon scraps secret AI recruiting tool that showed bias against women. [online] Reuters. Available from: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-jobs-automation-insight-idUSKCN1MK08G[Accessed 5 March 2021].

Day, M. (2018) How LinkedIn’s search engine may reflect a gender bias. [online] The Seattle Times. Available from: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/how-linkedins-search-engine-may-reflect-a-bias/[Accessed 5 March 2021].

DoNotPay. Features. [online] Available from: https://donotpay.com [Accessed 5 March 2021].

Dymitruk, M. (2018) The Right to a Fair Trial in Automated Civil Proceedings. Masaryk University Journal of Law & Technology, vol 13 (1). https://doi.org/10.5817/MUJLT2019-1-2

European Commission (2020) White Paper On Artificial Intelligence - A European approach to excellence and trust, COM(2020) 65 final, 19 February 2020. Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/commission-white-paper-artificial-intelligence-feb2020_en.pdf [Accessed 5 March 2021].

European Parliament. Resolution of 20 October 2020 with recommendations to the Commission on a framework of ethical aspects of artificial intelligence, robotics and related technologies (2020/2012(INL), 20 October 2020. Available from: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2020-0275_EN.html [Accessed 5 March 2021].

Fabian, S. (2020) Artificial Intelligence and the Law: Will Judges Runs on Punchcards?. Common Law Review, 16 (4).

Kaczorowska, M. (2019) Blockchain-based Land Registration: Possibilities and Challenges. Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology, 13 (2). https://doi.org/10.5817/MUJLT2019-2-8

Krieger, M. (2019) Stanford student’s quest to clear parking tickets leads to “robot lawyers. [online] The Mercury News. Available from: https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/03/28/joshua-browder-22-builds-robot-lawyers/ [Accessed 5 March 2021].

Liu, H., Lin, C. and Chen, Y. (2018) Beyond State v. Loomis: Artificial Intelligence, Government Algorithmization, and Accountability. International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 27 (2). https://doi.org/10.1093/ijlit/eaz001

Moradian, J. (2020) A New Era of Legal Services: The Elimination of Unauthorized Practice of Law Rules to Accompany the Growth of Legal Software. William. & Mary Business Law Review, 12 (1).

Niller, E. Can AI Be a Fair Judge in Court? Estonia Thinks So. [online] Wired. Available from: https://www.wired.com/story/can-ai-be-fair-judge-court-estonia-thinks-so/ [Accessed 26 February 2021].

Sandvik, K. (2021) Is Legal Technology a New “Moment” in the Law and Development Trajectory?. [online] Antipode Online. Available from: https://antipodeonline.org/2019/12/04/legal-technology-law-and-development/ [Accessed 26 February 2021].

Scherer, M. (2016) Regulating Artificial Intelligence Systems: Risks, Challenges, Competencies, and Strategies. Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, 29 (2). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2609777

Shipman, C. (2019) Unauthorized Practice of Law Claims Against LegalZoom—Who Do These Lawsuits Protect, and is the Rule Outdated?. Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, 32 (4).

Tegmark, M. (2018) Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Penguin Books. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781351251389-5

33 O 35/19, LG Köln, 8.10.2019.

I-6 U 263/19, Oberlandesgericht Köln, 19.6.2020.

LegalZoom.com, Inc. v. N.C. State Bar (2014), No. 11CVS15111, WL 1213242, North Carolina Business Court.

Metrics

1103

Views

1155

PDF views