Why You Shouldn’t Rely on AI for Legal Advice

Since the law can be confusing for many people without a legal background, many people turn to outside sources for legal advice. Today, more and more people are using AI to have their questions answered. AI tools can answer legal questions in seconds, explain complicated terminology, and point users to potentially relevant information. But there’s a significant difference between getting general legal information from AI and receiving legal advice from an actual attorney.

AI can be a useful starting point for legal research, but it should not replace advice from a qualified attorney.

Can AI Give You Legal Advice?

AI tools can provide you with some answers and advice when you enter a prompt asking for legal advice. AI will summarize relevant information from trusted sources – in this case, from legal websites. You can find a detailed summary of information relevant to the question you asked about a legal situation. However, it’s important to remember that AI is just finding relevant answers from sources it deems reputable.

It doesn’t mean AI is a legal expert. AI doesn’t have a wealth of legal knowledge, and you can’t always assume the answers AI tools find are accurate. It can get confused by the wording of your question and give you information that’s not relevant to what you wanted to ask.

If you have a legal question or concern, it’s best to consult a licensed attorney. AI can help you understand a situation better with relevant information, but an actual lawyer should give legal advice on what to do next.

AI Can Provide Legal Information

What AI can do is provide legal information by scanning the web and summarizing relevant answers its tools find on legal databases. Basically, AI provides research information that can help you understand legal concepts and precedents in certain cases. AI can help you learn about:

• Definitions
• General explanations
• Legal terminology
• Summaries of publicly available information
• Questions to ask an attorney
• Identifying potentially relevant legal concepts

Legal Information Isn’t the Same as Legal Advice

AI can provide you with lots of legal information from trusted legal sources online. It’s important to note that legal information is not at all the same as legal advice. Legal information can explain different legal concepts for you and answer specific legal questions. This is not legal advice, which will be provided by a legal expert and tailored to your specific circumstances. Legal advice can include specific strategies to help with your particular legal situation. A lawyer can let you know which strategy they think is best for you. Legal information can help you make an informed decision, but it’s not the same as expert legal advice about what to do in a situation.

Can an AI Replace a Lawyer?

ChatGPT and other AI tools can assist with general legal information and research, but they cannot replace an attorney who evaluates the facts of an individual case, applies the relevant law, considers procedural requirements, and develops a legal strategy. That doesn’t mean that AI cannot help if you need legal advice, but it cannot perform the role of a lawyer.

What AI Can Do

AI can be a valuable tool for legal research and document analysis. It can summarize case law, court decisions, discovery materials, and contracts, identify potentially relevant legal authorities, and assist in drafting legal documents and correspondence. These capabilities can save considerable time and make complex legal information easier to understand. However, AI-generated research and analysis can contain errors, omissions, or fabricated citations, making independent verification and professional judgment essential

What Lawyers Do that AI Can’t Reliably Do

Lawyers provide a human element that AI can’t replicate. For instance, lawyers must take legal accountability for their advice and actions. If they make a mistake in the courtroom, they can face consequences like malpractice lawsuits or disciplinary action. These consequences do not apply to AI.

There’s also the question of attorney-client privilege, as courts have ruled that AI chats are not privileged and can be used as evidence in court. Conversations with a lawyer are privileged and protected by confidentiality laws. AI also cannot provide professional judgment and context as human lawyers can. AI obviously cannot represent you in court, approach the bench, or negotiate with opposing counsel.  

Why Human Legal Judgment Still Matters

AI can analyze legal data and case law, but it cannot understand the nuances of human judgment. The ability to apply ethics and context is still an important part of being an attorney. A human lawyer needs to be able to navigate ambiguity and predict how legal statutes and precedents are going to be interpreted by a judge or jury. AI also cannot understand the human lives at stake in each case.

An experienced attorney does more than simply explain the law. Lawyers consider each client’s individual circumstances, goals, concerns, and the practical consequences of different legal options. They draw on their experience, professional judgment, and understanding of human behavior to evaluate risks, anticipate how opposing parties may respond, and develop strategies tailored to each client’s needs. They also recognize that the best legal outcome is not always the best practical outcome. This combination of legal knowledge, experience, and personal judgment is something AI cannot reliably replicate.

Why AI Legal Advice Can Be Risky

Accuracy is critical when dealing with legal matters. Even a seemingly minor mistake about the law, the facts of a case, or a filing deadline can have serious consequences. One of the biggest risks of relying on AI for legal advice is its tendency to generate information that sounds authoritative but is actually incorrect or entirely fabricated. These errors, commonly referred to as AI hallucinations, can include nonexistent court decisions, fabricated legal citations, and inaccurate statements of the law. The following are some of the reasons why relying on AI for legal advice can be particularly risky.

AI Can Give You Incorrect Information

AI systems can generate answers that sound convincing and authoritative even when the underlying information is inaccurate. Although AI can analyze information from multiple sources and identify inconsistencies, it does not always distinguish reliable information from misinformation, outdated material, or fabricated content. In some cases, AI may even invent facts or legal authorities rather than acknowledge that it lacks sufficient information to answer a question. Particularly troubling is that these errors are often presented with the same confidence as accurate information, making them difficult for someone without legal training to recognize.  It will sometimes have fake citations, incorrect data, or made-up biographies based on rumors or outdated information. These are called AI hallucinations.

AI May Misunderstand Your Situation

Although AI can analyze information and engage in complex reasoning, it does not always reach accurate or reliable conclusions. Its ability to evaluate a legal problem depends heavily on the information provided, and it may overlook important facts, misunderstand the circumstances, or draw incorrect conclusions. This means it doesn’t have the direct knowledge you’re asking for, nor can it think for itself. AI only knows what the user tells it; it may not know:

• The complete factual history
• Relevant documents
• Prior court orders
• Evidence
• Communications
• Opposing-party actions
• Procedural history

Because AI can only understand relevant information it scans and gathers online, it may misunderstand your situation, especially if your instructions are unclear.

Laws Differ by State and Jurisdiction

If you’re asking AI for legal advice, you need to make sure to specify where your case is taking place. AI may give you general legal guidelines for a specific situation, but those guidelines may be incorrect according to the laws of a given place. Laws differ by state and jurisdiction, meaning a law may apply to one state, but not another. A legal rule that applies in Florida may not apply in:

• Georgia
• Texas
• New York
• California

AI may give you legal advice that applies to these other places but doesn’t apply to you in Florida. Even within a state, court rules and procedures may vary.

Laws Change

One problem with asking AI for legal advice is that it may cite outdated information it believes is reputable. This can be problematic with legal advice because laws can change, making the information in a prompt outdated and obsolete. For example, the answer may not account for a recent change to:

• A statute or regulation
• A court ruling
• An administrative rule
• A filing or procedural requirement

Checking current legal sources can help you determine whether the information still applies.

AI May Miss Important Exceptions

Laws and regulations can be hard to explain definitively because they often have exceptions and other conditions that make it hard to apply them to everything. This can be difficult for AI tools to understand when sourcing legal information. Legal rules frequently have:

• Exceptions
• Definitions
• Conditions
• Procedural requirements
• Deadlines

A generalized answer can therefore sound correct while being incomplete.

​AI Doesn’t Know the Full Story Behind Your Legal Problem

Although AI can analyze information and engage in complex reasoning, the reliability of its conclusions depends heavily on the information it receives. Someone seeking legal advice may unknowingly omit important facts, misunderstand their legal significance, or present only the information that supports their position. 

An experienced attorney does more than accept a client’s account at face value. Lawyers ask probing questions, examine relevant documents and evidence, identify inconsistencies, and consider facts that may weaken as well as strengthen a potential claim. This process allows an attorney to evaluate a case objectively, anticipate potential defenses, and provide advice based on a more complete understanding of the circumstances. AI cannot reliably perform that kind of independent factual investigation based solely on the information a user chooses to provide. 

AI can explain laws, summarize court decisions, and even analyze how legal principles might apply to a particular situation. However, there is a significant difference between identifying a potentially applicable law and determining whether someone has a viable legal claim. 

An experienced attorney examines the facts, evaluates the available evidence, considers potential defenses, and assesses how courts are likely to interpret and apply the law. That analysis requires more than simply knowing the relevant legal rules. It requires experience, professional judgment, and an objective assessment of both the strengths and weaknesses of a case.

Lawyers Evaluate Facts

A good lawyer will be able to look at the facts of your case and determine which facts are relevant to proving your case and getting the outcome you want.

Lawyers Review Evidence

Lawyers carefully review all the details of the case and find relevant evidence that could help you win. Reviewing evidence requires careful observation and information gathering. They then apply this information to the specific circumstances of the case and the relevant laws.

Lawyers Identify Relevant Legal Issues

A good lawyer needs to identify the specific legal issues that are relevant to your case. Facts and evidence are a good starting point, but your lawyer must then show how they relate to applicable laws.

Lawyers Consider Potential Outcomes

Your lawyer should understand what could happen at the end of the case, depending on the decisions made and the legal avenues pursued. Your lawyer can use past experience and legal knowledge to anticipate and plan for each case’s potential outcomes. You need to understand how the law works and how certain judges and jurisdictions interpret it.

Lawyers Develop a Legal Strategy

Just like football coaches develop a game plan for each opponent, a lawyer needs to develop a plan for each case. The right lawyer will identify the ideal legal avenue to pursue when arguing your case. This will be based on the facts and evidence of the case, as well as the laws relevant to the case. A plan will be put in place to win your case.

​What Can AI Actually Help With?

While AI can’t replace a good lawyer, it can handle certain tasks to help automate case preparation and improve efficiency for a legal team. Preparing a case involves many tasks and steps. AI can help handle some of these smaller tasks, but in a way that saves your team time.

Explaining Legal Terminology

AI will provide definitions it finds for specific legal terms. It can also explain these definitions, which are often complex and difficult to understand, by translating them into everyday language.

Helping You Understand a Legal Document

AI can read legal documents so you don’t have to hunt for key information, and it can summarize them and highlight the most important details. Important caveat – understanding a document is different from determining what legal action you should take.

Creating Questions for an Attorney

If you’re unsure what you should specifically ask an attorney, you can ask AI for help. You can create an AI prompt about what you need to ask a lawyer about your specific legal situation, and the AI tools will generate questions you can bring to an attorney.

Organizing Information

AI can scan through thousands of pages of documents relevant to the case and pull out specific information that would be helpful and organize it in a simple, easy-to-read fashion.

Finding Potential Research Topics

You can type into an AI prompt asking about topics to research for your case, and the AI tool will return some ideas that might help you. AI is a good place to begin your research, as these tools can help you find ideas or facts you may not have been thinking about.

Summarizing Publicly Available Information

AI can find information that’s easily available to everyone and summarize it for you so that it’s easy to understand and explain. AI is a good tool to help you become a more informed client, not to replace your lawyer.

​What You Shouldn’t Ask AI to Decide for You

While AI can help explain legal information and jargon, there are some questions it simply doesn’t know the answer to. These questions are better for an attorney. If the decision could materially affect your legal rights, don’t rely solely on an AI-generated answer.

Whether You Have a Legal Case

Whether or not there’s a relevant legal case to be made for each client varies by the situation and the circumstances. It’s not so cut and dry. That’s why an AI cannot tell you for sure that you have a legal case, but a human lawyer would.

Whether You Should File a Lawsuit

This again depends on your situation and the facts of your case. It also depends on whether or not you have reliable evidence. The judgment of a lawyer can tell you whether or not a lawsuit would be a good idea. AI cannot make that distinction.

Whether You Should Accept a Settlement

This is where an attorney’s judgment comes into play. A lawyer can assess the case, especially the evidence, and decide whether accepting a settlement is a good idea for you. AI doesn’t have the ability to make judgment calls based on evidence.

What Legal Strategy You Should Use

Developing a strategy for your case is the work of an attorney who has a good combination of knowledge and courtroom experience. AI can provide some strategy ideas, but a human lawyer is the one who can select and develop an effective strategy for your case.

Whether You Should Sign a Legal Document

This is another situation where a human attorney’s judgment makes a difference. A lawyer can advise you on whether you should sign a legal document. A lawyer knows whether signing this document is a good idea and whether it’s the right move for your specific situation. AI can tell you what the legal document is for, but it can’t tell you whether you should sign it.

Whether You Have Missed a Legal Deadline

AI can inform you of a legal deadline only if it comes across that information while summarizing info about your case. A trusted lawyer would know when that deadline is and let you know about it. If you miss the deadline, your lawyer will remind you. A good lawyer would be there to make sure you don’t miss any deadlines.

How You Should Respond to a Lawsuit or Legal Notice

What AI can’t do is make good judgment calls for you. AI can provide you with information but can’t interpret this information or how it should be best used to your benefit. A lawyer, however, understands the meaning of each situation and can formulate a strategic plan forward. If you are being sued or have received a legal notice, a real, actual lawyer is the best choice to guide you through the situation and strategize about what to do next.

​What Happens When AI Gives You the Wrong Legal Answer?

Using AI for legal advice opens you up to unnecessary risk and consequences because AI answers aren’t always reliable. While not every incorrect AI answer will cause legal harm, you have to remember that the stakes are high in a legal situation, and relying on incorrect AI answers creates unnecessary risk. The risks you take by relying on AI include:

You Could Miss a Deadline

AI may find outdated information about deadlines and dates, putting you in a tough spot if you choose to believe this unreliable information.

You Could Misunderstand Your Rights

AI will give you answers to questions based on repeatable information and patterns it finds when analyzing the information that’s out there. Incorrect legal information may be out there and getting repeated. Laws change, and some regulations no longer apply to your situation. You could be following a bad AI answer that misrepresents your rights.

You Could Say Something that Hurts Your Position

If the information you use in an administrative filing or a court case is incorrect, it could greatly harm your case and hurt your chances of getting a positive result. Saying something that hurts your position is more likely when you’re relying on AI for information.

You Could Make an Expensive Legal Decision

AI can cite examples of actions you can take related to your case, but it doesn’t always know if this is the right decision for you. For example, AI might recommend a legal decision that is simply too expensive for your budget.

You Could Delay Getting the Help You Need

AI doesn’t understand urgency the way a lawyer would. A lawyer would understand the importance of getting the ball rolling on a legal claim. AI would simply give you some ideas but not be able to clarify the urgency.

​When Should You Stop Using AI and Talk to a Lawyer

In most situations, it’s better to talk to a lawyer than it is to put questions into AI and hope for reliable legal advice. Having a real lawyer to talk to and help you is crucial for your legal rights. Only a real lawyer can be trusted for the legal advice you need.

You’ve Received a Legal Notice

You’ll want a lawyer to review your legal notice and explain what you should do next in response. A lawyer can use their judgment to advise you on the best course of action after receiving a legal notice. AI can explain the legal notice, but it won’t advise you on what to do next.

You’re Facing a Lawsuit

If you’re being sued, you need legal representation. A lawyer can help keep the process moving and protect your rights. Only a lawyer can help you get a justifiable outcome when facing a lawsuit.

You Have a Court Deadline

A lawyer can help you meet whatever deadlines you have. Your lawyer can file paperwork for you and meet other requirements ahead of a deadline. A lawyer can help you take action, which is something AI can’t do.

You’re Considering Filing a Claim

Whether or not you should file a claim is a big decision based on the facts of the case and available evidence. A lawyer can provide sound legal advice as to whether or not you have a case. Using AI will not be helpful in this regard, as AI cannot provide judgment.

You’re Negotiating a Settlement

When negotiating a settlement, you want to make sure the outcome is right for you and your particular circumstances. AI won’t understand these circumstances, but a lawyer who is working with you will.

You’re Making a Major Legal or Financial Decision

If there’s a decision to be made that impacts your finances or your future, you can’t take any chances. Turning to AI for legal advice in these situations would be irresponsible. You need the trusted advice of an experienced lawyer.

You Don’t Understand What Your Legal Options Are

In these cases, AI can outline some legal options, but it may end up referencing old, outdated material. Make sure your options are relevant to your case and the current laws in place by asking a lawyer who knows and understands the current laws.

If the outcome could affect your rights, finances, family, employment, business, or future, it’s worth discussing the situation with an attorney rather than relying solely on AI.

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