Do I Need a Lawyer if I Have ChatGPT? | Expert Legal Advice

Artificial intelligence has seen rapid advancements, including large language models and chatbots that understand and respond to questions using aggregated information. While mostly everyone is familiar with ChatGPT and some of its alternatives including Claude, Copilot, Gemini, Jasper AI, Meta AI, and Perplexity AI, it’s no doubt that generative AI has become a valuable resource for general information, research, and guidance on a wide range of topics – including legal advice and contract drafting. But as with any technology, new or old, there can be critical limitations with these products, and the legal industry is a prime example of AI’s current limitations.

Businesses have started testing AI’s capabilities as a cost-saving measure, including obtaining contracts from AI to suit the businesses’ needs. The product received from AI provides  simple form agreements. However, such agreements lack personalization and critical legal analysis related to the agreement’s specific fact pattern, course of dealing between the parties,  as well as current statutes, regulations, and case law.  Such contracts produced by AI typically fail because AI lacks legal training, and the user inputting the question for AI may not be aware of all the issues that AI needs to consider in order to produce an applicable contract (i.e., you don’t know what you don’t know).  Failure to include key terms and address key legal issues in a contract puts your business at risk for, among other issues, financial losses, voided contracts, failure to be covered by insurance, breaches of regulations and laws, and potential litigation. So, while AI can offer helpful insights into certain areas of the law, there are important reasons why everyone should still rely on a licensed attorney for legal matters.

1. Legal Expertise

Lawyers undergo years of specialized education and training and have years of experience working with clients to solve issues (ranging from simple to complex) with nuanced facts. Lawyers understand the complexities of the legal system. Lawyers stay current on statutes, regulations, and case law, all of which can change suddenly, allowing attorneys to interpret the law and provide sound legal advice. While ChatGPT can summarize laws and produce basic agreements, it cannot match the depth of knowledge and personal experience that a lawyer brings – and it cannot tailor a contract to your business’s specific needs and situation.

2. Personalized Legal Advice

Lawyers often act as therapists – they listen to the client’s concerns and then tailor advice to the client’s specific needs. This advice could be legal in nature and may include personal or business-related guidance based on similar situations they have encountered with other clients.  Every legal situation is unique, and generic legal information likely does not address specific needs. Lawyers analyze the details of every person’s situation to ensure that all relevant factors are considered.  Based on such analysis, lawyer provide tailored advice after careful evaluation of all of these factors. ChatGPT and other generative AI tools can offer general knowledge, but cannot assess any person’s individual circumstances the same way a human attorney can.

3. Confidentiality and Privilege

Communications with a lawyer are typically protected by attorney-client privilege, meaning what you share with your attorney is confidential and cannot be disclosed (for example, in certain situations privileged communications cannot be used against you in court). In contrast, ChatGPT and other AI tools do not provide legal privilege or confidentiality. Any information typed into chatbots is discoverable and never is erased, which means that such searches could be exposed, and certainly are not legally protected.

4. Legal Representation

A lawyer can represent you in court during negotiations and in official legal proceedings. Whether you or your business are dealing with a lawsuit, contract dispute, real estate lease, family legal issue, a will, or estate planning, only a lawyer can advocate on your behalf in an official legal capacity. Having a lawyer present can change the dynamic of negotiations, demonstrating a certain demeanor and sophistication. Human lawyers also can provide real-time analysis of the tenor of the negotiations and implement strategies to advocate in a particularly tense negotiation or situation, and lawyers can approach a friendly situation in a more cooperative manor.  Moreover, business entities must be represented by a state-barred attorney in court proceedings.  Obviously, AI cannot do any of this.

5. Jurisdiction-Specific Laws

Laws vary significantly by location, and what applies in one state or county may not apply in another. Lawyers routinely practice within their jurisdiction and are intricately familiar with the laws, procedures, and policies within their area of focus. Policies usually are up to interpretation by a regulatory agency, and routine interaction with that regulatory agency provides a lawyer with practical experience on how such agency applies the policy.  AI cannot engage with regulatory agencies, cannot advise on how an agency interprets a law, and is unable to ensure compliance with state-specific laws. 

While ChatGPT and its sister tools can be powerful programs for research and even for a preliminary understanding of certain laws, it is not a substitute for a qualified lawyer. When facing legal challenges, it is crucial to seek professional legal counsel for proper advice, protection, and representation. Only a human lawyer can provide the legal expertise, confidentiality, and advocacy needed for current real-world legal issues.