AI will kill all the lawyers • Hacker News Board

Re: AI will kill all the lawyers

#11

Post by echelon » Fri, Dec 19, 2025, 6:41 PM UTC

> ‘My niece is a lovely girl, really smart, great at school, and the other day she told me she wants to be a lawyer. And I thought, “Oh my God, my little niece wants to be a lawyer”, and I flat out told her. I said please do not destroy your life. Do not get into a lifetime of debt for a job that won’t exist in ten years. Or less.’

Bets that this won't happen in just 10 years?

DARPA Grand Challenge took 20 years, and it's still not on the interstates. Waymo is amazing, but it's still a work in progress.

I know it's coming, but solving problems that require 99.999% correctness is hard work. Mistakes multiply.

A toy can be ready tomorrow, but a precision legal tool needs to be better than humans. Not unlike driving 70 mph on the interstate highway with hands off the wheel.

Re: AI will kill all the lawyers

#12

Post by echelon » Fri, Dec 19, 2025, 6:41 PM UTC

simonw wrote: post #9

> I mention the problem of ‘hallucinations’ – when an AI model presents false or fabricated information as factual – and the need for a human face in court. The Sandie Peggie judgment allegedly contained AI-made errors. He waves this all away. ‘Temporary bugs and sentimental preferences. The economic argument is overwhelming.’ As usual with "AI replacing humans", the key thing to consider here is accountability. I wa…

> An LLM can never be accountable.

That's where AI businesses will make bank.

When they actually underwrite the risk of their models and sell that to clients - that's going to command an extremely high price premium.

The models aren't there yet, though.

Re: AI will kill all the lawyers

#13

Post by lumost » Fri, Dec 19, 2025, 6:42 PM UTC

ActorNightly wrote: post #4

I agree but we aren't close to having AI, even in the slightest. At best we built a small portion of what constitutes an AI.

We're at a funny stage where some careers are becoming "post-LLM". For example, SWE is either rapidly approaching, or surpassing the point where LLMs can do most of what we traditionally viewed as day to day SWE work. However this doesn't translate into "no more SWEs." I have no doubt that what it means to be a lawyer day to day will shift with LLM advancements.

Re: AI will kill all the lawyers

#14

Post by nickff » Fri, Dec 19, 2025, 6:42 PM UTC

stuffn wrote: post #7

hackingonempty wrote: post #5

Law has one of the strongest "unions" in the form of the Bar Association, backed by legal force. You cannot practice law without "passing they bar" as they say. The lawyers who operate the Bar can just decide they wont be replaced and then they wont, AI will remain a tool used by human lawyers.

Given they have the power of life and death in their hands having them licensed and accountable is peace of mind. Surely unions are too powerful in several industries. Police, medicine, and law. But not having some association holding these people accountable is a bad idea.

Most of these industry guilds tend to be capricious but forgiving, determined to protect members. Almost every (North American) union puts its members' well-being ahead of any possible accountability, which makes sense, but means they cannot be trusted to self-regulate.

Re: AI will kill all the lawyers

#15

Post by eschulz » Fri, Dec 19, 2025, 6:43 PM UTC

vishnugupta wrote: post #8

I read somewhere that it's not going to happen because the AI can't play gold with judges, senators, and congressmen over the weekend.

You're right. Gold and golf are at the center of the legal world.

Re: AI will kill all the lawyers

#16

Post by jscottmiller » Fri, Dec 19, 2025, 6:44 PM UTC

Not sure it will replace them, but a tool that allows folks to have a better understanding of the legal system and how to navigate it will certainly impact the existing power systems (of which lawyers are a part).

Re: AI will kill all the lawyers

#17

Post by zkmon » Fri, Dec 19, 2025, 6:45 PM UTC

> AI will kill all the lawyers

That will the biggest criminal case processed without lawyers!

Re: AI will kill all the lawyers

#18

Post by elicash » Fri, Dec 19, 2025, 6:45 PM UTC

I think theoretically, it's okay for LLMs to write legal briefs, to replace attorneys. Write the best argument you can with whatever tools you want.

What worries me is the idea of them replacing JUDGES.

Re: AI will kill all the lawyers

#19

Post by arctic-true » Fri, Dec 19, 2025, 6:46 PM UTC

Someone publishes this story every 3 months. One more gullible senior attorney getting on the hype train is not news. LLMs are very, very, very good at making words look pretty, which has always been a cherished talent that lawyers liked to think only they possessed. But even before LLMs, you wouldn’t pay a lawyer much if all you needed them to do was to write a brief with no investigation, discovery, or motion practice involved. Grok’s output looks like great lawyering because it’s the product of great lawyering - great lawyering which enabled this source to spoon-feed the facts and the law to Grok, which makes this more like a law school writing assignment than actual legal work.

Re: AI will kill all the lawyers

#20

Post by jelled » Fri, Dec 19, 2025, 6:47 PM UTC

Just like AI will kill all the software developers...

Obviously AI will change the legal industry. But a lawyer will still have an advantage because they know what questions to ask and can provide the AI with the relevant context.