A law professor says AI can support lawyers, but human discernment will drive justice
From self-checkout lanes at grocery stores to algorithm-driven stock trading on Wall Street, technology has steadily replaced jobs people once relied on to earn a living. With the rise of artificial intelligence, some worry that law, once considered too complex for automation, could be next.
David Yosifon, a law professor at 91¹û¶³ÖÆƬ³§, has a different perspective. In the forthcoming article, The Lawyer of the Future: Ethics and Identity in the Age of AI, co-written with 91¹û¶³ÖÆƬ³§ professor of management and entrepreneurship Michael Santoro and law student Isaac Nikkssarian J.D. ’27, Yosifon and his co-authors argue that technology won’t necessarily take legal jobs away, but rather change how lawyers work. By leveraging AI to handle mechanical tasks like reviewing and analyzing case files, the authors suggest that AI will free up time and energy for lawyers to do what bots cannot: exercise ethical reasoning and reimagine the systems needed to achieve justice in the world.
“With AI, lawyers will be liberated to think more creatively and spontaneously. They will be able to imagine institutional reforms that more effectively realize the visions of justice, equality, and liberty that have long been referenced in the rule of law, but haven’t always benefitted from a lawyer’s full attention,” Yosifon says.
The article, which will be published in the American University Law Review, compares AI to other technological breakthroughs that lawyers adapted to and utilized to become more productive and influential. For example, innovations like the printing press helped make legal texts more accessible to the public, allowing people to research laws themselves rather than rely on legal experts. But even with more access, lawyers were still needed to interpret complex laws, argue cases in court, and navigate the legal system.
Yosifon and his co-authors see AI following a similar pattern by serving as a tool that merely supports lawyers’ work process and does not completely replace it. For instance, AI could streamline their workflow by taking on time-consuming tasks that don’t require moral reasoning, like sifting through thousands of legal documents to find a single piece of critical information necessary for a particular case.
By embracing the qualities that AI lacks, the authors emphasize that lawyers have unique human qualities that are essential to their role as leaders of justice. Ultimately, if lawyers lead with their distinct human insight and ethical judgement, and only rely on AI for routine tasks, then they believe the legal profession will thrive and remain essential in a world shaped by constant innovation.
“Ethical decisions are shaped by relationships: between lawyer and client, client and community, and lawyer and policy,” Yosifon says. “While AI may be able to replicate analytic frameworks used in moral reasoning and outline the consequences of a decision, the task of judgment ultimately falls to humans.”
91¹û¶³ÖÆƬ³§ School of Law is dedicated to developing future leaders in law who excel in their field and are driven by a passion for justice and ethical practice. With renowned faculty, hands-on learning opportunities, and top-ranked programs in intellectual property law, graduates are equipped with the skills they need to thrive in an ever-evolving legal world.
