How is AI affecting courts and law practice? ABA task force report has answers
Do the Federal Rules of Evidence have to be changed to address issues created by artificial intelligence? That is one of several issues addressed by the ABA Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence in a report on AI’s impact on the practice of law released Monday. (Image from Shutterstock)
Do the Federal Rules of Evidence have to be changed to address issues created by artificial intelligence? That is one of several issues addressed by the ABA Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence in a report on AI’s impact on the practice of law released Monday.
Two task force members, retired U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm of the District of Maryland and computer science professor Maura R. Grossman, think that current evidence rules for authenticating and admitting AI evidence can be used to manage issues created by deepfakes, the report said. They see no need for a higher standard of proof for admissibility, but they back the adoption of procedural safeguards that stress validity and reliability, as well as a stronger role for judges as gatekeepers, according to the report.
Other issues raised by the report include:
• How have judges responded to lawyers who unwittingly introduce mistakes in legal documents by relying on AI? Judges throughout the country have issued dozens of standing orders on lawyers’ use of AI. “These orders reflect judges’ concerns about protecting confidential client information and ensuring that lawyers fulfill their ethical obligations,” the report said. “However, they are creating an array of inconsistent and often vague rules that may be confusing and difficult to comply with.”
• How are lawyers using AI in their practice? The most common tool in legal practice is extractive AI, which makes predictions and provides analysis based only on data that is fed into the AI model. Data might include depositions, affidavits, court decisions, contracts, and testimony and hearing transcripts.
• What ethics issues are raised by lawyers’ use of AI? An ethics opinion released in July by the ABA’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility addressed the topic. Before using AI, the opinion said, lawyers should consider their level of competency, their duty of confidentiality and whether they must disclose AI use to their client.
• How can AI improve access to justice? AI could be used to inform unrepresented people about legal options,and could be used to “alleviate the repetitive, labor-intensive and sometimes-tedious tasks that can often fill a legal advocate’s day, particularly with high-volume caseloads in most nonprofit legal services offices,” the report said.
• How are law schools integrating AI into their curricula? Fifty-five percent of law schools offer classes dedicated to AI, according to findings from a task force survey of 29 law schools. Eighty-three percent offer clinics and other opportunities in which students can learn how to use AI tools.
The task force was created in August 2023 to address the impact of AI on the legal profession and the practice of law, according to an Aug. 5 ABA press release. Its report is titled Year I Report on the Impact of AI on the Practice of Law.
