Thursday, January 26, 2023
Update on the Robot Lawyer in Court
My student Jewel Porter provided me with the following update on the DoNotPay story that we ran last week.
Nice to see that DoNotPay has not forgotten his ABCs -- the rest of the thread is about the other marvelous services his company provides.
Alas, there is just no way to find out whether DoNotPay's robotic attorney could actually help a customer beat a parking ticket. Or is there? If Mr. Browder is really interested in trying out his robotic attorney in a real setting (but apparently not one in which his liberty is at stake), my offer stands. In exchange for a $1 million donation to my law school, I am ready to organize a Supreme Court style moot court at which Mr. Browder can show us the capabilities of his AI attorney. This offer is contingent on us coming to formal agreement and all rules being followed.
Curious minds might inquire what State Bar prosecutors are and whether they have the authority to throw someone in jail for six months. Do robots not get due process?
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/contractsprof_blog/2023/01/update-on-the-robot-lawyer-in-court.html
Comments
I guess, but why is sending a robot to court unauthorized practice of law in ways that differ from all of the other legal services the AI program is allegedly providing? I am inclined to call BS on the entire story. The only source for the alleged threat is the CEO himself. Maybe he pulled back from his plan for reasons other than the "state bar prosecutor."
It doesn't seem like an open-and-shut matter in any case. How could the state bar prosecute Browder? He's not engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. His company's bot is. Let them try to prosecute the bot or in the alternative, the corporation that owns and controls it. Even if the charges stick, it seems to me that the remedy against either the bot or the corporation is not jail time, and it isn't obvious to me that Browder can be charged with anything. Seems like a great opportunity to test the bot's capabilities. What do you think?
Posted by: Jeremy Telman | Jan 26, 2023 5:54:48 PM
"I guess, but why is sending a robot to court unauthorized practice of law in ways that differ from all of the other legal services the AI program is allegedly providing? "
Maybe because the "Bar prosecutors" did not know about the other AI activities.
Posted by: John Wladis | Jan 26, 2023 6:08:23 PM
How could they not? He won't shut up about it all.
Posted by: Jeremy Telman | Jan 26, 2023 7:34:59 PM
Maybe unauthorized practice of law?
Posted by: John Wladis | Jan 26, 2023 11:03:29 AM