With the rise of AI also known as Artificial Intelligence, many legal professionals are wondering if the legal profession is in jeopardy. This article will discuss how AI impacts paralegals specifically.
The first and most important thing to recognize is that since 2008, paralegals are not just legal assistants but are licensed and regulated professionals.
Secondly while AI is great for research and writing most people recognize that AI is often actually very stupid. It cannot recognize many basic things that humans do easily. For example, you would not want to rely solely on AI to prepare for trial because it does not know the specifics about how each court tends to lean or the temperament of your opposing party opposing counsel. AI may be amazing at reviewing massive amounts of documents or information, but does not help with critical thinking, will not play devils advocate, and will not do a respectable job at client communications. It can be incredibly good with marketing as well and taking over automated tasks.
To summarize there is no concern of AI, Artificial Intelligence taking over any part of the paralegal profession. However, like everything else, it does have the impact to change things, make things easier in some regard, and can be a great tool when used properly. The world is continually changing and as a society we must be aware and keep up with the changes, be them good or bad.