Attorneys, AI may help you in the weakest area of client-attorney relationships
BlackTechLogy: Instead of viewing ChatGPT as Unauthorized Practice of Law, consider these eight perks
This post is part of a series entitled “BlackTechLogy.” Click here for the archived posts.
I let out a deep sigh at the pile of paperwork in front of me on Closing Day of buying my condo unit. When a first-time homebuyer is sitting across from the buyer’s Realtor, the seller’s Realtor and the buyer’s lawyer, along with the title company employees, there’s added pressure to get through these documents as quickly as possible. But there was one document that I paused over and tapped my real estate lawyer for elaboration.
Although she was usually helpful at explaining legalese, Closing Day had become a nightmare, specifically when the title rep started playing a verbal game of Chicken with the mortgage company over a missing file. Threats were heard to reschedule Closing Day, and both the Realtors and my lawyer immediately pushed back. As a first-time homebuyer, I didn’t know the difference and thought this was the “norm.”
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What wasn’t the norm was a particular line on a piece of paper that made me hesitate to sign it. When my lawyer gave me a vague answer to my question, I repeated my question in a different way. Even though she was growing frazzled by the entire experience, I refused to sign the sheet until I understood that line. After all, this pile of paperwork came to me on Closing Day and I certainly wish I got it three days before like I did with my Closing Disclosure. That way, I could read it without so many eyes on me.
Deja vu with legal paperwork
A similar occurrence happened with an attorney I knew for the past few years. He’d asked me to write down a phrase in a letter to another attorney. I thought the phrase was optional and reworded it differently. He repeated the exact phrase the way he wanted it to read. My response was “unh hunh,” and I still wrote something else.
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A week later, after editing a number of legal documents (for work and unrelated to me), I looked up the phrase he’d asked me to type in my letter on ChatGPT. As soon as I saw what the original phrase meant, I realized where I goofed. I let out a deep sigh and shook my head. I should’ve listened to him and added the phrase as is. (I still may have a chance later, depending on the response to my letter.)
I chuckled, thinking of a college associate giving me the nickname, “Why?”
“No matter what you say to her, she’s going to ask you why,” he’d say in a tone that was halfway tickled and halfway annoyed. “She’s never just going to let you get out of explaining your answer.”
For an entire year, when he’d see me on campus, he’d point and go, “Hey, Why!” I waved and never let reverse psychology get me to zip my lips.
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That’s why this one ChatGPT search was a gift to my “Why?” ears — and a primary example of how attorneys should take notes from artificial intelligence. Although there are gripes about ChatGPT (or Gemini or Copilot) walking a fine line of Unauthorized Practice of Law, the one major perk that ChatGPT has going for itself is it’s never impatient. You ask AI a question and it’ll not only give you an answer; it’ll also dissect that answer if you want more elaboration — and will do so for free. When I fully understood why I should use that phrase instead of just doing what I was told, it made that much more sense.