ChatGPT Won’t Be at Your Hearing: Why AI Isn’t the Answer for Your Legal Needs

By Associate Attorney Nicole M. Perozzi
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ChatGPT and other AI tools have quickly become a part of our everyday lives. From helping us unclog a drain, decorate a room, plan a vacation, or even make an email more readable and grammatically correct, AI is everywhere.  It may be tempting to experiment with AI to draft legal documents, but that should be avoided.  A shortcut today can create confusion, conflict, and financial hardship down the road.

Have you ever heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out?” We think that is a good way to describe AI-drafted legal documents.  ChatGPT pulls its knowledge from the internet, where sources are sometimes incorrect, outdated, or from other jurisdictions (even if you search for something state-specific).  ChatGPT has been documented to “hallucinate” or invent citations to nonexistent case law.  AI models are not always trained in the most current laws, regulations, or court cases, resulting in documents that are outdated or non-compliant.

An AI-generated legal document is often a generic template that lacks the crucial, nuanced language specific to your situation. It lacks the assistance of an attorney who can provide judgment, experience, and strategy for a client’s unique situation.   AI relies on patterns in data rather than understanding the intent or context behind a legal document. It cannot ask clarifying questions or understand the commercial realities of a deal in the way a human can.

Think about it for estate planning: are you remarried with children from a prior relationship?  Do you have a loved one with special needs?  Do you own a business you want to pass down?  Do you have minor children?  Do you own real estate?  Situations such as these require careful and customized planning beyond just filling in blanks on a template.  AI simply isn’t designed to handle these nuances.

The biggest danger with using an AI-generated estate planning document is the false sense of security it provides.  Although your will or trust may look fine, a loved one may discover years later that there is a serious issue with your estate plan.  At that point, it’s too late to fix. If your AI-generated will is found to be invalid, your estate will pass subject to your state’s intestacy laws.  For example, if you pass away in North Carolina with a spouse and children, you may be surprised to hear that your spouse may share in your estate with your children.

In the business context, we’ve seen clients with contracts that require them to do so much more than is legally required, actually opening them up to more potential liability, because AI put “best practices” in the contract instead of legal requirements. If a client provides us with an AI drafted agreement, it oftentimes costs them more money to unwind it than if we had just drafted it in the first place.

While AI is a great tool for learning about the law, it’s not a substitute for personalized legal advice. In nearly every client meeting we have, we hear comments like, “I never thought of that.” It’s our role to help you plan not only for the things you already know you need, but also for the things you may not realize you need to prepare for—and AI can’t do that based on real legal training and experience.

Contact us today to schedule an introduction call!  At Jesson & Rains, while you build, we protect.