ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE FUTURE OF LAW PRACTICE IN NIGERIA: THE NEED TO PREPARE

Introduction

True, the wake of the fourth industrial revolution has conceived a lot of modern disruptive technologies with AI sitting at the heart of every industry. From self-driven cars to virtual doctors, and robo-advisors to the internet of things, AI is transforming the culture of life, work and business.

While the rise of artificial intelligent machines continue to make things easy, they have soon become a global labor concern, and with each passing day, the question – ‘whether or not artificial intelligent machines would lead to the extinction of certain jobs’ lingers.

Though probable, considering that employers in the manufacturing sector now invest more in robotics to perform certain tasks in other to offset recurring expenditure like payment of salaries, it is uncertain this would be the case in the legal practice. At best, AI machines can enhance the practice of law, and not send lawyers to extinction.

Nonetheless, as businesses become A.I-focused with clients changing their taste in respect to service delivery, the practice of law, though traditionally conservative, has not been immune to this disruption. The wake of AI has seen the transition from the traditional to an AI-centric law practice such as automation, case management, smart contracting and predictive legal analytics.

This paper travels into the future of legal practice in the wake of AI while answering the question of extinction. It further outlines the skills required of the future legal practitioner, all with focus on the practice of law in Nigeria.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DEFINED

Acclaimed to be the father of artificial intelligence, John McCarthy who coined the name in 1950, defined the term as ‘the science and engineering of making intelligent machine.’ Similarly, Ziyad Saleh of the British University in Egypt sees it as the ‘intelligence demonstrated by machine in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans and other animals.’

Artificial Intelligence (AI) simply is a programmed or observed intelligence exhibited by a machine or robot. At inception, AIs could only act based on the data fed them as they lacked a storage memory. However, modern AIs can now learn from a set of data (experience) as a result of a built-in memory. This leg of innovation is what has been popularly dubbed as machine learning.

But how do machines learn?

A subtle illustration can be drawn from how a baby learns to do certain things by merely observing and learning from how the parents behave. So too, these A.Is learn from experience and act accordingly.

Without doubts, the inclusion of AIs have had noteworthy impact on such sectors as health, manufacturing, governance, corporate, sports and oil and gas to mention a few. Its influence in the legal practice cannot be overlooked. ROSS – dubbed as the first AI-lawyer for instance, is changing the way legal teams in the U.S work. Lawyers can ask ROSS their research question and the robot reads through the law, gathers evidence, draws inferences and returns highly relevant, evidence-based answers.[1]

Three types of A.Is have been classified based on capabilities, to wit:

1. Artificial Narrow Intelligence[2] ;

2. Artificial General Intelligence[3] ;

3. Artificial Super Intelligence.[4]

GENERAL IMPACT OF A.I IN LAW PRACTICE (NIGERIA IN FOCUS)

The practice of law in Nigeria is gradually becoming fleshed with AI enabled devices. Virtually all core legal tasks such as contract drafting and research etc. have been streamlined with a touch of artificial intelligence due primarily to change in client taste of service delivery and global tech revolution. This increasing adoption of AI was revealed in a 2018 report which showed the AI legaltech market to be valued at $3.2 billion, while further forecasting the Compound annual growth rate between 2019 and 2026 to reaching 36%.[5] What does this tell us? The legal practice is not immune to this rapid digitization.

Subsequent paragraphs reveal the use cases of AI in the Nigerian legal practice.

1.??????Legal Document Automation:

According to Alex Melehy, founder and CEO of Woodpecker, a leading Microsoft Word-enabled document, “document automation is the process of standardizing frequently used documents and then setting them up so that they can be automatically generated whenever they are needed”.[6] ?

Typically, the time employed in drafting legal documents can be exhausting and most times, create opportunities for errors. Meanwhile, according to a research, over 80% of a lawyer’s time can be saved using document automation.[7] This eye-opener has led young lawyers and top-quartile firms such as ACAS-Dentons in utilizing document generation software integrated with word processing tools to simplify user interface and allow for the creation of visually dynamic templates.[8]

Sadly for the legal practitioners is the fact that these software are accessible to clients. As such, clients can easily find answers to legal questions and draft common documents like Wills without necessarily consulting a lawyer.

2.?????Case Management AI Tools:

The ability to manage multiple cases efficiently is one of the lawyer’s tool-kits. While he may attempt the manual voyage, there are tendencies for data insecurity, and much more so, the inability to access documents remotely. This is where the case management realm comes handy. As expected, in other to build efficiency and keep pace with clients’ demands, case management software are fast growing in-demand and law firms including Aluko & Oyebode and Duale Ovie & Alex-Adedipe are evolving with these A.I tools to manage varied cases. ?With such tools, lawyers can access documents anywhere, anytime.

3.?????Predictive Legal Analytics

While today’s clients are cautious on what dispute resolution mechanism would be advantageous to them, high paying lawyers and firms on the other hand, are distinguished by their ability to determine best suited solutions to their clients. One way this is done is through the use of predictive analytics – an AI powered tool that analyzes decisions and scenarios with particular reference to the issues in a client case, and provide a prediction of likely outcomes, while considering factors like the individual judge hearing the case and precedents.

In Nigeria, the launch of LawPavelion Prime – Nigeria’s first legal analytics software, has significantly supported law firms in helping lawyers in having a foresight of the outcome of a client’s case.

4.?????Legal Uber: This term is couched in recognition of the recent disruption by a Legaltech application called LegalX. The application which was developed by a Technology Law Firm known as The Legal Concierge was launched at the Nigerian Bar Association 61st Annual General Conference 2021. It functions like Uber by creating seamless connection between a client in need of a lawyer, anywhere, anytime. With just a click of a button, a client can select a highly qualified and registered lawyer to attend to his needs. This innovation by the CEO and FOUNDER – Inemesit Dike has been dubbed revolutionary in an interview, as it creates business for lawyers and allows for easy legal representation of clients.[9]

Other use cases of AI in legal practice include Legal research, expertise automation and smart contracting in the blockchain etc.

DOES AI ADOPTION MEAN THE EXTINCTION OF LEGAL PRACTITIONERS?

A very threatening headline perhaps, is that by JP Morgan which read: “JPMorgan software does in seconds what took lawyers 360,000 hours.” According to JP, its Contract Intelligence machine - COIN reviews documents in seconds, is less error-prone and never asks for vacation.[10]

What’s more, a competition between AI powered algorithms and lawyers from firms such as Goldman Sachs also revealed the AI as outmatching the lawyers in terms of speed. But does all of these send lawyers to extinction? Would robots some day represent clients in court? Well, no.

As explained, AI are fed with data which enables them to act and react in a certain way. Advanced ones however, not only act based on the data fed them, but learn from previous data as well. This is the class of AI that adopts what is known as machine learning.

Whether programmed or learned, there are drawbacks to every AIs/robots which of course, make them handicapped. These drawbacks will be considered in subsequent paragraphs.

1.??????Theory of Mind/Self-aware A.I:

To be able to understand the complexities of legal representation and effectively answer to unprecedented court practices, a robo-lawyer must either have a mind of its own or be self-aware.

However, the development of AI have not grown to a stage of machines having minds of their own and altering their programmed response, and it is impossible this would be. All that has and would ever be are reactive machines – which act based on the data fed it and the limited theory technology – which both act based on the data fed it and react from experience.

Sophia – the first humanoid robot for instance, although can show emotions, give speeches and by observation can demand to have its own family, does all of these based on the mind programmed into it. It cannot for instance, apply its ‘common sense’, other than that programmed into it.

Self-aware A.Is are dubbed to be the final stage of A.I development. ?These kind of AIs can understand, evoke human emotions and have emotions of their own. Moreover, to be self-aware is to be able to know one’s internal states ?without external tutelage. It defines individuality. In essence, such A.I must have a self-created mind not influenced by any human factor. But as much as human efforts are expended into building/feeding the AI with data, the purpose of self-awareness is defeated ab initio. For to be self-aware, the AI must be such that can be self-created as not to have a programmed mind.

From the foregoing, it is only clear that now and in decades to come, AIs would not have minds of their own, and would therefore be unable to think and act at will, especially when?faced with unprecedented scenarios.?

2.?????Data/A.I Bias:

This is perhaps the major argument levied against the use of AI. AI generally suffers from a disease called bias that has its root in human predispositions. Whether we like to admit it or not, all humans have biases, and sometimes these biases are inadvertently displayed. Therefore, it is almost not possible to say a machine is unbiased.

Since it is unlikely for A.Is to act outside the data fed them, they invariably would parade the bias in the algorithm used in their creation. There have been instances of bias displayed by A.I powered machines resulting to discrimination and other form of social reactions. A popular example of bias in the Justice system was the use of COMPAS – an A.I algorithm which is used to predict the likeliness of a criminal reoffending. According to its result, black defendants pose a higher risk of reoffending and white defendants are less likely to re-offend. Black defendants were almost twice as likely to be misclassified with a higher risk of reoffending (45 percent) in comparison to their white counterparts (23 percent).[11]

In general, wiping out this prejudice in humanity has been a Herculean task, let alone in machine learning.

Away from the drawbacks of A.I machines. Assuming but not conceding that robots would in the future represent clients in court, the cost of hiring a personal ‘robo-lawyer’ would be far-reaching, and therefore serve injustice to those who would not be able to afford it.

More importantly is that it is unforeseeable that a conservative profession like Law would allow the practice of robots as lawyers. It is very unlikely that the present Legal Practitioners’ Act, 1962 would be overhauled to enable ‘robo-lawyers’ (A.I) practice law in Nigeria.

Another reason it is unlikely for AI to penetrate the legal practice in Nigeria such that lawyers are sent to extinction is the lack of infrastructures like the beyond 4G technology. This is especially important because AIs require high speed network to function expediently.

NEED TO PREPARE: THE FUTURE LAWYER’S SKILLSET

As much as this industrial revolution continues, it will be wishful to think that the advancement of AI will know an end.

Although AI would not necessarily displace lawyers, the roles of future lawyers will change significantly. Paperwork and the current emphasis on drafting techniques will be laid to rest.

Amongst other roles, lawyers of the future will be involved in objectively supervising and reviewing the data fed to AI systems; understanding a clients’ needs and matching them to the outcome of an A.I tool. Tech savvy lawyers will also be directly involved in legal product design.

As it is, a predictive analytic tool does not tell a lawyer or client what to do after its prediction. For instance, suppose the outcome of a predictive analytic tool is an 80% winning chance in favor of a client, it is the lawyer based on his understanding of the client’s needs, and not the prediction of the A.I, that tells the client the steps to follow afterwards.

Sought after lawyers of the future will have such skills as IT, negotiation and dispute resolution skill as well as legal design thinking to stay on the game. He or she must exhibit a superior level of creativity.

CONCLUSION

The future of law practice in Nigeria will change significantly as young lawyers are already being exposed to the nuances of AI use. In the future, law will be practiced in the comfort of the practitioner’s couch, heavily aided by AI enhanced apparatuses. As emphasized above, AIs and robo-lawyers will not replace lawyers in the future, and whatever the advancement in the coming years, lawyers will still be the final point of contact. However, whether this is foreseeable in Nigeria would be dependent on the level of technology infrastructure in place.

[1] PTI, 'Meet Ross, the robot lawyer who got hired by US law firm- The New Indian Express ' > accessed 20/04/2022

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[2] Priya Pedamkar, ‘Types of Artificial Intelligence’ < https://www.educba.com/types-of-artificial-intelligence/ > accessed 20/04/2022. All the existing AI applications which we see around us fall under this category. ANI includes an AI system that can perform narrowly defined specific tasks just like humans. However these machines cannot perform tasks for which it was not programmed before-hand, so they fail at performing an unprecedented task. Based on the classification mentioned above, this system is a combination of all reactive and limited memory AI. AI algorithms that we use in today’s world to perform the most complex Prediction Modelling fall under this category of AI

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[3] ?< ibid > accessed 20/04/2022. AGI has the capability to train, learn, understand and perform functions just like a normal human does. These systems will have multi-functional capabilities cutting across different domains. These systems will be more agile and will react and improvise just like humans while facing unprecedented scenarios. There is no real-world example of this kind of AI, but a good amount of progress has been made in this field.

[4] ?< ibid > accessed 20/04/2022. Artificial Super Intelligence will be the top-most point of AI development. ASI will be the most potent form of intelligence to ever exist on this planet. It will be able to perform all the tasks better than humans because of its inordinately superior data processing, memory, and decision-making ability.

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[5] Valentin Pivovarov, ‘713% Growth: Legal Tech Set An Investment Record In 2018’< https://www.forbes.com/sites/valentinpivovarov/2019/01/15/legaltechinvestment2018/?sh=2db9f8b87c2b > accessed 20/04/2022

[6] Jotform 'Legal document automation: What it is and how it helps’ <Legal document automation: What it is and how it helps | The Jotform Blog > accessed 20/04/2022

[7] Windward Studios, ‘Solving 3 Legal Document Challenges with Document Automation’, <https://www.windwardstudios.com/white-papers/legal-document-automation >

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[8] https://legal.businessday.ng/amp/2020/03/12/top-20-nigeria-law-firms-leveraging-technology-for-service-delivery/ > accessed 21/04/2022

[9] Zainab Iwayemi, ‘How Legal Concierge is using technology to offer legal services – CEO, Inemesit Dike’,

?https://nairametrics.com/2022/05/19/the-application-of-technology-within-legal-services-is-a-major-challenge-in-nigeria-inemesit-dike-founder-and-ceo-the-legal-concierge/

[10] Hugh Son, ‘JPMorgan software does in seconds what took lawyers 360,000 hours’ <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/jp-morgan-software-lawyers-coin-contract-intelligence-parsing-financial-deals-seconds-legal-working-hours-360000-a7603256.html > accessed 20/04/2022

[11] Logically, ‘5 Examples of Biased Artificial Intelligence’, < https://www.logically.ai/articles/5-examples-of-biased-ai > accessed 21/04/2022