The rise of the robot lawyer: Some assembly required
Dr Catrina Denvir
Over the last decade, a growing group of ‘futurists’ have declared the lawyer an endangered species.
Drawing on the disruption other industries have faced as a result of technology, these commentators have issued stark warnings as to the future of the legal profession.
Whilst proselytising about legal technology can help prepare the profession for emerging trends, changes and their likely impact, it is difficult to convince a lawyer that a particular proposition is correct by relying on anecdote alone.
If the legal profession is not yet on board with the idea that we are undergoing substantial change in the profession, it may have less to do with the vigour with which the message is conveyed and more to do with what is being said, which, all too often is nothing of any real substance.