AI Is About To Be Lawyers’ Unusual Benefactor In 2024
The legal profession might be in for a thrilling even if exhausting ride this coming year

As we gear up to welcome every New Year, we are usually inundated with predictions and analyses from diverse sources that paint a mixed picture of what lies ahead from economic forecasts to the cryptic visions of renowned seers it looks like 2024 is going to be a bumpy ride.
However, one peculiar angle to me is the expected relationship between lawyers and Artificial Intelligence because according to management and strategy consultant, Adrien Book, AI is set to become the unexpected Santa Claus for legal professionals. As more and more are rushing into the AI parade, lawyers will need to gear up for a wild ride through a maze of legal conundrums and unexpected twists.
For instance, we can expect disgruntled individuals lining up to sue companies left, right, and center for copyright infringements all thanks to AI’s questionable data usage. We might also see employees on the warpath, suing companies en masse following forced redundancies because an AI decided to just swipe their jobs right from under their feet.
And of course, we can't exclude the classic scenario of bots going wild, malfunctioning, and making “mistakes” leading to, wait for it, an abundance of lawsuits!
Other possible scenarios, according to Book, where lawyers will likely need to step into addressing legal implications, assessing liabilities, and perhaps advising on regulatory compliance likely include, cases of people suing companies for bias and discrimination or bots “accidentally” leaking out training data containing sensitive information.

If all these predictions hold, young aspiring professionals might just see in all of this a silver lining in pursuing a career in law! In the meantime, for all the already corporate lawyers out there, you might need to take a breath and savor what little serenity is at the end of 2023, because 2024 is shaping up to be a thrilling even if exhausting ride.
“I hope corporate lawyers have a restful end of 2023 because their 2024 is going to be difficult.” –Adrien Book
