If a new lawyer could perform a specific legal service for you faster, more accurately and for less money, would you hire that lawyer?
Would you still hire that lawyer if it was a computer?
The question is a serious one and more businesses need to begin asking themselves this very question.
Today’s WSJ.com has an insightful article (“Why Hire a Lawyer? Computers are Cheaper explaining the coming change. This one comment caught my attention: “Humans unearthed an average of 60% of relevant documents, while predictive coding identified an average of 77%.” The computers also flagged fewer irrelevant documents and did so in less time than humans.
The new computer technology won’t replace all lawyers but it will replace some mediocre ones and the legal profession needs to begin considering how this and similar technologies — such as IBM’s Watson supercomputer — are about to radically transform the legal profession.
Interested in other posts by legal futurist Jack Uldrich? Check out this post:
