Law professor and legal AI expert, Dan Katz, talks to Artificial Lawyer about generative AI and the legal sector. The second and longer version of this interview will be published next week. Dan also will be a keynote speaker at the Legal Innovators Conference in San Francisco in June 7 / 8.
If you only watch one video about generative AI and the legal field then make it this one, it’s certainly the most interesting conversation I’ve had on the subject for some time – largely because Dan really knows what he’s talking about. In fact, his new project, run via 273 Ventures, is about developing a Legal Data Operating System to organize and connect data from various legal organisation sources using ‘connectors for large language models’ such as GPT-4. I.e. he and his colleagues, such as Michael Bommarito, are right at the cutting edge of what’s happening now.
To watch the video, please press play.
In this Part 1 video, we cover:
- Probably will still need a human in the loop, but certain legal tasks will tilt more to the machine.
- Information inside organisations – got to unlock that (with gen AI), so much value there.
- There is now the end of one legal tech era and the beginning of a new one, the one that has just ended was from the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to the end of the Covid lockdown. The new era is marked with the arrival of ChatGPT and GPT-4.
- There will be a lot of legal tech M&A to come, because ‘legacy providers’ will need to act in order to adapt to this new era and may not be able to do it as they currently are.
- Legal job losses? People stuck doing the same repetitive legal tasks won’t last. But law firms will still prosper as they can adapt.
- Law firms have been losing market share to inhouse, but also as generating text becomes cheaper so there is a growing need to review it. This means that AI is needed as part of this process. Legal complexity also keeps growing, so we still need expert lawyers.
- And yes, Dan says, what is happening now with generative AI is the biggest thing to happen in legal tech in his career.
On Monday, Artificial Lawyer will publish the full-length interview, where we really get into many other key questions about generative AI and the future path of the legal sector.
I’m also really looking forward to hearing Dan and other experts speak at Legal Innovators California, June 7 and 8 in San Francisco.
If you would like more information about the two-day event, please see here. Day One will focus on law firms and ALSPs, and Day Two will focus on inhouse and legal ops.
To get your tickets and book your place at the landmark legal innovation conference this June please see here.
See you all there to celebrate the beginning of a new era in legal tech!
Richard Tromans, Founder of Artificial Lawyer and conference Chair.
