Lawyers Replaced by Robots

Do not fear the coming singularity – it’s very possible that you will like your new robot colleagues more than your existing co-workers (of course, you wouldn’t be subject to replacement).  An alternative view is that lawyers are already robots, so what’s the difference?

“In past years, blue-collar jobs were most threatened by automation.  But white-collar jobs–including lawyer jobs–are also on the line, Forbes reports…Forbes lists five professional jobs that are already being threatened by automation. They are: 1) E-discovery lawyers and law-firm associates…. The story notes the role of software programs in e-discovery. ‘It’s also conceivable in the near future,’ the story says, ‘…a legally-trained Watson might be able to construct a system with a vast store of cases and precedent and create drafts of briefs – the sort of research and writing work generally handled by associates in law firms.'”

Read: Are you smarter than a robot? Lawyers, surgeons make list of jobs being replaced by computers at the American Bar Association