Artificial inteligence, the key to improving legal work and justice system
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the future of the legal profession. This, among other related topics, has been disccused during a conference specializing in the internet and law in Beijing, which took place this last Sunday and was jointly held by the Internet Society of China, All China Lawyers Association and Law Press China.
Taking advantage of the Internet to tackle cases and dealing with judicial affairs has been strongly approved by China’s legal industry. Robots are unlikely to replace lawyers in court, but they can prepare papers for hearings. Whilst not outside the realms of imagination, computers taking over legal reasoning tasks from human lawyers have yet to become reality. Partly this is because artificial intelligence has developed more slowly everywhere than the enthusiasts predicted. Another factor is the innate conservatism of the legal sector. However, there is every sign that a combination of technological advance and market pressure is about to push law firms into the AI age.
Professional services generally rely on a lot of data and information, and a relatively small amount of judgment. AI-based systems could carry out many of the tasks given to paralegals and junior associates. This has consequences for the shape of the industry and the career paths of those in it. A computer is as fresh and alert at 2am as it was at nine o’clock the previous morning, and this could mean a decline in the use of legal secretaries and the number of associates hired.
Even if objectively the system turned out to be not as expert as a human, some types of law firms might find the trade-off acceptable for some types of cases, as due diligence and litigation discovery software is already highly developed.
A more sophisticated use of AI is in providing strategic guidance. By instantly trawling through records of past cases, a system can find the optimum percentage at which an increased offer would lead to a settlement. Indeed, many Western insurance companies use such systems to settle personal injury claims.
The results of the analysis of a combination of different factors can be used to produce models able to predict the likelihood of cases being won or lost. These models will not replace a lawyer’s experience and judgment, but will provide an additional aid to them in a world where it is no longer good enough to take a case on with a 50 per cent chance of success and where fees are getting lower and lower.
As the Internet provides convenience for residents, it brings many changes for the legal industry, including not just law firms but also courts and prosecuting authorities.
Making use of the internet and big data to manage court affairs is also becoming more important for Chinese courts. This systems can help them make quicker and better decisions, improving the judicial efficiency.
“The fast developments in the network make several related industries booming, such as e-commerce, Internet finance and cybersecurity, but how to use laws or new-style legal ideas to handle new problems in the fields has been a big challenge for judicial insiders,” said Su Zelin, deputy director of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, at this Sunday’s conference.
For example, to better analyze disputes and provide legal convenience for litigants, the top court established a database to collect litigations. 91 million cases and 44 million verdicts have been stored in it by now, and four open platforms have been set up already, including one for helping residents make lawsuits and one for looking up judgements.
The use of the internet also makes court work more transparent by receiving supervision from the public.
It was the second time that the country’s internet and legal industries held such activity, attracting hundreds of guests, such as Web enterprise engineers, lawyers and judges.