It generally feels as if the authorized career’s major engagement with AI up to now includes attorneys citing pretend instances generated by ChatGPT and getting hauled earlier than judges to elucidate themselves. And with world authorized hallucination incidents closing in on 1000 cases, that’s an comprehensible response. Everybody will get an excellent snort and the at all times vocal Luddite contingent of the bar feels vindicated.
However specializing in AI’s limitations as a persistently dependable temporary author is like rejecting a grill since you don’t like sizzling canine. Which isn’t a knock on what AI can convey as a analysis and drafting device — or sizzling canine for that matter — however the know-how can do different issues! A few of which carry apparent worth for attorneys and aren’t impacted by hallucinations in any respect.
Nobody desires to show over a “reside ammunition” deposition to a neophyte lawyer. However how does a neophyte be taught to take a deposition with out expertise. Intensive sensible simulations with copious ranges of senior lawyer suggestions present the most effective — and, traditionally, solely — coaching mannequin. Possibly the agency places it collectively on-site. Possibly they ship attorneys to an off-site camp like NITA. In the meantime, legislation college students ought to contemplate opportunities like the ML Advocacy Academy for these experiences. That stated, litigation abilities aren’t perfected in per week and always iterating coaching classes with employed actors and companions devoting the vitality and (misplaced billable) time to mentoring and suggestions presents a logistical problem for corporations.
One which AI can now handle.
AltaClaro has taken its expertise constructing coaching instruments for attorneys, and the captioning and transcription abilities of Verbit.ai and launched DepoSim, harnessing AI to assemble a deposition simulator. Synthetic intelligence takes on the roles of deponent, opposing counsel, and courtroom reporter in a vetted simulation. Armed with a closed universe of documentary proof, customers can ask questions, mark reveals, and navigate objections whereas the AI composes a transcript for posterity. When the train ends, the system generates an in depth, rubric-based suggestions report scoring the person throughout a number of deposition abilities. If the person desires to run via the train once more to shine up their errors, there’s no scheduling complications bringing courtroom reporters and actors and different attorneys into the workplace — they will simply hearth up the system once more.
Customers may even tweak the system to change the deponent’s evasiveness and the defending lawyer’s obstreperousness to apply totally different abilities or simply to maintain the problem recent.
AltaClaro and Verbit gave me a hands-on demonstration final week. I haven’t handled a witness in years at this level, however sitting down with DepoSim felt like a blast from the previous. With the advances in know-how over the previous couple years, the AI witness responds rapidly and realistically and the opposing counsel threw in suitably annoying objections. Anybody dedicated to their kneejerk rejection of know-how will spot the cracks that separate the train from a flesh and blood simulation, however none of those undermine its prowess at testing vital abilities. If something, the best way the robotic can persist with the prep and by no means get drained solely will increase the problem. That may solely be an excellent factor.
Sadly, the know-how fails to seize that Texas deposition vitality.
Possibly the subsequent replace.
And don’t overlook the worth of a pc simulation for knowledgeable attorneys. A Biglaw litigator can go a good period of time between taking depositions. Regardless of somewhat rust setting in, a senior accomplice isn’t prone to schedule on-site coaching for themselves or e book a visit to a corporation’s boot camp. This device provides them a low-impact choice to brush up on their abilities earlier than the true factor.
From my expertise, I obtained dinged on professionalism as a result of I couldn’t cease snarking on the AI witness:
Joe: Is that this your signature on the doc?
Witness AI: I should look via the doc to search out my signature.
Joe: My guess is it’s on the final web page, genius.
Actually, truthful criticism from the scoring rubric. Although in an actual deposition, my method would’ve completely rattled the witness. Or gotten me sanctioned.
AltaClaro and Verbit ran a beta Early Adopter Program with six corporations — Orrick, Ok&L Gates, McDermott, Littler, Taft, and Brownstein Hyatt — that generated over 160 hours of testing. The numbers from that pilot are fairly telling: 97 % of individuals strongly agreed the device is effective for litigation coaching and 94 % stated they’d use it once more.
One collaborating accomplice known as the expertise “frighteningly life like,” including that the suggestions was “higher suggestions than I’ve obtained from attorneys. Each extra complete and extra particular.” One other self-described “confirmed AI hater” among the many associates admitted they may see themselves utilizing it long-term.
At launch, the product solely gives a simple civil deposition, however at my demonstration, they defined that they perceive the potential to increase the obtainable situations. As a know-how, there’s no motive this couldn’t be tailored for distinctive conditions like a 30(b)(6) or an professional witness. With somewhat tweaking, it might present trial examination and even oral argument apply.
That is what the confirmed AI haters miss. For each activity that AI dangers disastrously messing up with out targeted human oversight, there are duties that AI can deal with persistently properly… and extra effectively. Whereas the better AI business — and its supporting VC tradition — love speaking about changing white collar staff, they don’t have to construct robotic attorneys to offer worth. Crafting a device that enables attorneys to simply prepare for depositions on their very own schedule is an ideal use case.
And no worrying about hallucinations.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Legislation and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Be happy to email any suggestions, questions, or feedback. Comply with him on Twitter or Bluesky for those who’re considering legislation, politics, and a wholesome dose of school sports activities information. Joe additionally serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
