AI won't replace lawyers

At least not anytime soon. But it does provide an opportunity for forward looking lawyers.

AI has been dominating the conversation, especially on social media, so we’re going to talk about it today. Specifically I’ll share why I believe lawyers are in no immediate danger of being replaced by AI and where I think the greatest opportunities lie. I’ll also share a bit about the specific bets I’ve taken (where I work, and the startups I’ve invested in) based on my beliefs.

Also: Thanks to everyone who filled out the poll from last week. Seems like most of you believe your biggest differentiators are subject matter expertise and general intelligence—not surprising since so many of you are lawyers! This week, I have a poll about whether people would be interested in participating in a law-focused startup incubator (e.g. “Y Combinator for legal tech”) based on a few conversations I’ve had in the community.

But first:

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Yes, I made this myself with the Apple Notes app on the new iPad I got last week. You can expect more terrible cartoons in the future!

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There’s a lot of chatter about AI replacing white collar workers. Including lawyers. I mean, there have always been articles around this topic floating around. But it’s really stepped up in recent months with the release of OpenAI’s impressive technology.

I get why people want to replace lawyers with technology. We’re not the easiest to work with. And we often charge a lot of money for basic legal services. So I totally get the excitement around the possibility of using AI to get rid of the lawyers.

But these predictions are way off the mark. Mostly because they fail to address the unspoken dynamics of the legal industry. You have to understand why something exists before you can get rid of it. So today I’ll share three reasons why lawyers can’t be replaced—at least for now.