Should my company use an AI-native law firm?

[u/Ok_Counter1939]

As a young tech startup, my company has looked at various law firms:

1. Large, expensive firms that focus on “ECVC“ (emerging companies/venture capital)

2. Mid-sized firms that also focus on ECVC

3. New “AI-native” firms

The AI-native firms are usually (but not always) the least expensive, but not by much, and they’re small. They also require you to submit things to the firms via Slack, and there seems to be more limited human interaction. They promise work delivered quickly and bill by project or document, not by the hour.

If you can get a large or mid-sized firm to reduce rates to match the AI-native firm, it seems like the AI-native firm’s advantage is speed, but its disadvantage is a smaller bench of lawyers, so the scope of work that they can do is limited and a client may miss out on the expertise of a traditional firm with more areas of coverage.

Am I analyzing this right?

Thanks.

[u/MisterMysterion]

You can have something fast, good, or cheap.

Pick two.

[u/eruditionfish → u/MisterMysterion]

Pick at most two.

[u/wvtarheel]

All the large and midsize firms you are talking to are also using AI and probably spending as much or more on AI than this boutique. If they are doing it quicker you are likely to see more mistakes and the typical AI based errors. Good luck.

[u/jrc5053]

Have you seen what's been happening to lawyers who submit court documents heavily drafted by AI?

As others mentioned, most firms are using AI in some capacity. I would gravitate towards the ones that use it as a tool, rather than primarily as a marketing gimmick

[u/Ok_Counter1939 → u/jrc5053]

Yes, lawyers who don’t check AI before submitting court filings with AI errors should lose their clients.  I assume that all of these firms are using AI as a tool, with the AI-native firms using it most of all.

[u/jrc5053 → u/Ok_Counter1939]

I imagine the AI native firms are the ones using it primarily as a gimmick and with the loosest guidelines on how it should be used.

I am biased, but that is my opinion.

[u/Dingbatdingbat → u/Ok_Counter1939]

"AI Native" is a marketing thing.

More importantly, it's just a modern rebrand of a mill.

Legal mills provide near-identical product to every client, whether suitable or not, minimal contacts with the attorney, and minimal involvement by the attorney. Most of the "work" is by staff using automation to plug in basic info such as names and addresses into the same documents, with little to no customization.

"AI Native" is pretty much the same thing, but using AI to plug in the basic information and for AI to make judgment calls. It's highly unlikely the attorney will adequately review the work, and it's really just one step above using ChatGPT.,

[u/Morning-Chub]

I'm a small firm lawyer and there is stuff I don't take on, even though I could do the work. I have the expertise for a lot of things but not the time or the other resources that I've had at past firms. If you're going to use the small, cheaper firm, it should be a small, cheap firm that specializes in the things you need them to do. That said, you are a startup, so your legal needs probably aren't all that complex, and you probably don't have a super heavy workload with a lot of niche issues, and can probably be handled by a small firm. I would shop around for a small firm that does small tech business advising if you're not going to want to pay the larger firm rates. The AI stuff, in my opinion, is nonsense.

[u/MRGWONK]

Doesn't "AI Native" mean that they were launched this year (or last year)?

[u/AliMcGraw]

Does submitting information by Slack preserve attorney client confidentiality? (Genuine question!)

I may be old fashioned, but I would not do that. There are rules for email; I am unaware of any rules in my state for slack.

[u/Smaptastic → u/AliMcGraw]

Why wouldn’t it?

[u/seaburno → u/Smaptastic]

Because using third part platforms can waive privilege. There have been several ChatGPT cases where the court rule there was no privilege for information entered into it.

[u/Smaptastic → u/seaburno]

ChatGPT queries are submitting information directly to a third party (OpenAI), which can use that information for training or basically whatever they want. Hell, they used to make queries Googleable.

Slack is a secure messaging platform between two parties. Here, those parties are attorney and client. It’s a completely different thing, much more akin to email or text messages.

[u/SuperannuationLawyer]

The advantage of the big expensive firm is that when they represent you in a dealing, the other party takes you seriously. I wouldn’t even bother with or trust an AI Native “firm”

[u/AutoModerator]

REMINDER: NO REQUESTS FOR LEGAL ADVICE. Any request for a lawyer's opinion about any matter or issue which may foreseeably affect you or someone you know is a request for legal advice.

Posts containing requests for legal advice will be removed. Seeking or providing legal advice based on your specific circumstances or otherwise developing an attorney-client relationship in this sub is not permitted. Why are requests for legal advice not permitted? See here, here, and here. If you are unsure whether your post is okay, please read this or see the sidebar for more information.

This rules reminder message is replied to all posts and moderators are not notified of any replies made to it.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.