Can We Trust Legal Advice from a Robot?
New research from, CenturyLink EMEA, an IT Services company specialising in digital transformation, has found that 20% of consumers would either definitely, or possibly, trust an automated, robotic service – such as a chatbot – to provide advice on a legal case relating to them. The survey, conducted by Censuswide, quizzed over 1,200 consumers, finding that those in London would be most comfortable taking automated legal advice (32%), shortly followed by individuals in the South East (22%) and Scotland (22%).
The study also revealed which kinds of legal advice they would take from a robot, and at which stage of the process automated advice would be most trusted. Almost a fifth (19%) of people questioned would trust a robot to manage and speed up the process of their case (for example, to schedule meetings and remind them of key dates). Speed was of particular importance to those between the ages of 16 and 34 (29%), while only 16% of 45+ year olds seemed to place importance on how fast a service is.
A further 15% of those questioned would trust an automated service to send and manage relevant documents for their case, such as passport scans or proof of address documents, and a 14% would trust automated services to advise them on which law firm would be best for their case. However, the research also revealed that only one in 20 (6%) would take actionable advice from a robot, thus removing the need for a human lawyer.
The data reveals a clear requirement for human interaction at some point during the legal process, but concerns around the source of robot-led advice is evident. For example, nearly half (45%) of consumers feel advice would lack human knowledge, over one in three (35%) believe advice given wouldn’t be unique or bespoke enough for them, and a further 31% worry about where the information they provide would be stored, or shared elsewhere.
Steve Harrison, regional sales director of legal services CenturyLink EMEA, commented: “When it comes to the use of robots in the legal sector, consumers have been loud and clear. While there is room for the use of AI and chatbot-led practices, human input should still lead the way. However, the legal sector still has much work to do to improve the overall customer experience, shaking up traditional paper-reliant working models and helping ease workloads.
“Alongside this, there is definitely a requirement for law firms to embrace technologies, such as robotic and automated services. With most consumers’ saying that they would trust a robotic service in the early stages of a case, this is where legal firms can stand to gain. By utilising such technologies in the initial stages, they can dedicate time to the more bespoke services – for which 35% of consumers’ value highly.
“We’re starting to see an emergence of new organisations in the legal sector that are honing in on the inefficiencies that we’ve seen in the space, and are finding innovative ways to solve these age old problems – primarily, efficiency. Some of these organisations are already offering AI related solutions to help understand unstructured data and comprehend natural language to pick warning signs, for example. As these initiatives gather pace, it’s only likely that consumers will gradually become more comfortable in receiving advice in this way.
“However, with their cost and influence comes responsibility, and this is significant when it comes to providing legal advice. Whilst start-ups may be leading the way in terms of new technologies, the incumbents can use their heritage to their advantage. Having the in-house knowledge and expertise will go a long way for consumers if that can be incorporated into digital-first services.
“That said, law firms shouldn’t run before they can walk. There’s a long way to go until consumers completely trust this machine-learned advice, and it needs to be invested in carefully. Implementing an AI system that can’t be supported by IT infrastructure – and subsequently fails – will only damage customer relationships. By ensuring that back end technologies are up to speed, law firms can digitally transform to embrace AI, as opposed to consider it a hindrance.
“By implementing, integrating and maintaining these kinds of technologies into their wider digital transformation strategies, law firms are enabled to enhance their customer services. By looking at how automation can speed up and improve certain elements of the legal process, they will not only appeal to a wider audience, but increase time that can be dedicated towards more bespoke and intricate cases.”
Steve Harrison
Steve Harrison is the Regional Sales Director in EMEA overseeing the Legal and Media and Entertainment verticals.
Steve is an accomplished, results driven sales leader with 15 years leadership experience in technology companies. He has a consistent record of over achievement as a result of building and developing successful teams, creating and implementing growth strategies and by developing deep understanding of vertical markets.
He has been recognised throughout his career as a top performer and a passionate leader, he has been a member of the Global Microsoft Top Talent Program (Top 2%) for 3 consecutive years, and selected as a coach and mentor to his peers.
CenturyLink is a global IT solutions leader that powers the needs of businesses of all sizes through our hybrid IT services including public and private cloud, data centre colocation, managed hosting and network services.
In Europe, we work with leading brands, such as Cancer Research UK, easyJet, Euromoney, G4 Security and Universal Music. Every day we help our clients to deliver agility, innovation and speed to market for their businesses. Every minute they harness the scalability and economics of cloud-based technologies.
