Confidentiality with AI is something that law firms should take seriously. Lawyers have become more comfortable with AI, and more law firms are using it to gain an advantage. Lawyers can use AI’s power for routine document review or complex legal predictions.

Artificial intelligence also promises efficiency and an advantage over other law firms that are not using it. However, as law firms integrate this technology more profoundly into their systems, a series of profound ethical challenges emerge that threaten to undermine the bedrock principles of legal practice—confidentiality and fairness.

There are interesting AI tools out there for lawyers, like Clearway Time. It’s a new AI-enhanced tool for screening out clients looking for free legal advice who are either unemployed or troublesome.

Basically, it works like this: A legal assistant, paralegal, or lawyer emails the client a link to our proprietary questionnaire (hosted securely in our cloud), and the client fills out key questions that the lawyer wants to know before taking on the consultation. 

These questions might include:

1) How soon are you looking to hire a lawyer?

2) What is your budget?

3) Can you afford a $5000 retainer?

4) Asking them to upload key documents (prenups, purchase agreements, incorporation agreements…)

Etc.

Not only does the law firm get the answers to these questions before accepting the consultation, but our AI assigns a grade rating to the client. For example, a client rated an “A” will likely retain the law firm. “D” or “F” client scores mean they are not a good fit. Anything ranked “B” or “C” could be booked for a consultation or referred to another law firm.

This frees up much time for the lawyer, previously wasted in pointless consultations.

The Illusion of Foolproof Technology

Confidentiality agreements often contain data that includes sensitive information that, if leaked, could destroy lives, businesses, and careers. Given the increasing frequency of cyber-attacks, a data breach seems not a possibility but a certainty. The looming question is no longer if but when and how devastating it will be.

AI systems require ongoing input (data) to refine their algorithms, so the door to continuous data vulnerability remains perpetually open. 

The Bias Built into the System

Beyond confidentiality, another sinister issue looms—algorithmic bias. AI, by its nature, learns from existing data. This data, particularly in traditional case law, is not devoid of the historical biases inherent in our society. When AI systems are trained on past legal decisions and outcomes, they absorb the prejudices embedded within them. This results in a system replicating and potentially amplifying these biases.

Consider AI technologies used in predictive policing or risk assessments for bail and sentencing. These systems, if trained on biased historical data, could perpetuate and even deepen disparities in legal outcomes based on race, gender, or socioeconomic status. The impact is chilling—decisions that might affect an individual’s freedom could be skewed by an opaque algorithm, answering more to its training data than to the principles of justice.

When my company, Clearway, builds AI algorithms for law firms, we put a lot of effort into ensuring this doesn’t happen. But it’s never 100% perfect.

The integration of AI into law firms raises profound ethical questions. How do we mitigate these biases? Can they ever be fully extricated from artificial intelligence? These are not just technical challenges but moral imperatives. 

The allure of AI as a cost-effective solution masks the potential for more profound societal costs. Reduced human oversight in legal processes saves time and money, but we must be careful. The debate concerns efficiency versus ethics and the legal future we want to forge.

Confidentiality with AI

In our journey toward integrating AI into the legal industry, it is imperative that we, as a legal community, adopt a stance of rigorous vigilance and proactive regulation. The spectre of AI is not looming—it’s already here, altering the fabric of our legal proceedings. 

Robust ethical guidelines and oversight mechanisms must be implemented to govern AI’s application in legal settings. These systems need to be transparent, not enigmatic black boxes understood only by tech CEOs and the developers who build them. Everyone, from attorneys to clients, must comprehend how these systems work, at least at a high level. This transparency is fundamental for fostering trust and ensuring these technologies operate within ethical boundaries.

Rigorous audits of AI systems must be mandated to detect any biases and ensure stringent data security. To maintain their integrity, independent bodies should conduct these audits free from potential conflicts of interest. It’s not enough to develop AI simply because we can; we must develop AI that adheres strictly to ethical considerations, prioritizing fairness and justice over mere efficiency.

The path forward is clear. We must embrace the power of AI with a commitment to ethical integrity and a determination to protect the core values of our legal system. The decisions we make today will define the future of legal practice. Let’s ensure it is a future where technology serves justice, not vice versa.