Needed capacities or functions - Emerging Technology
- Organizations should maintain awareness of emerging technologies and their impact on the delivery of legal services.
Important Considerations and Best PracticesAs new technologies emerge, organizations must maintain awareness of how those technologies may affect the delivery of legal services. If appropriately introduced, new technologies may significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of legal services. But new technologies can also cause significant disruption to the legal services sector that requires changes in policy and practice to ensure that the client community is not adversely affected. Generative artificial intelligence ("AI") tools like ChatGPT represent what many believe could be a revolutionary change in how technology will affect legal services. AI tools will likely have some positive impacts, such as increased efficiency, but AI may also lead to significant challenges and problems, such as an increase in unlicensed practice of law or overreliance by legal advocates or self- represented litigants that leads to legal error. Organizations should pay attention to how new technologies like artificial intelligence are used in the legal sector and stay abreast of emerging best practices and guidance from organizations like the American Bar Association. In the case of artificial intelligence, it is also important to understand how AI tools are being incorporated into existing platforms and applications in ways that may go unnoticed by users. For example, organizations using Microsoft Teams should be aware of how AI may be integrated into features such as meeting transcription or content search that might raise concerns about client confidentiality. Useful websites, resources, and other tools |