Costs lawyers will still have work to do in an AI-dominated world – but they must be willing to retrain and adapt to take advantage of the opportunities available.
That was the message from High Court judge Mrs Justice Smith in a speech to the Association of Costs Lawyers conference today.
Smith said the daily lives of costs lawyers will be ‘transformed’ by technology advances, with tasks such as assessing and transcribing data being exactly the type of work which can be done by artificial intelligence.
‘Cost management over the course of litigation would appear to be obviously suited to this new technology,’ said Smith.
‘Does this mean there is no future of the sector? I hope and believe not. I don’t believe the increasing use of AI will deprive costs lawyers of work but there will be a real imperative to find new ways to add value. A combination of legal and technological expertise seems most likely to be attractive in this brave new world.’
Future work streams could be found in supervising AI and automated outputs, and in strategic advice to clients. Smith added: ‘We are a very long way from people wanting machines to mediate their dispute.’
Smith urged lawyers in general not to be afraid of the advance of AI and ‘not to fixate on the teething problems of AI but rather to look with optimism at the main advantages of using it’.
She said areas such as pleadings and disclosure could be dramatically speeded up and enhanced by automated technology, while lawyers could embrace technology that sifts out unmeritorious cases or gives advice about the prospect of settlement.
‘It should be obvious to anyone who knows about the potential for AI that it could seriously reduce the cost of every aspect of the litigation process.’
