When Attorney Rex Parris learned about artificial intelligence (AI) technology that is taking the place of a lawyer in traffic court, he thought it was a publicity grab.
“But that doesn't change the fact it’s incredibly sophisticated technology,” he said.
Parris was reacting to the news that two drivers plan on litigating their speeding tickets in traffic court using an earpiece to hear instructions from the DoNotPay app that will connect through Bluetooth.
“This isn't a lawyer,” he said. “We shouldn't mistake DoNotPay for a lawyer. It's a software program. If plaintiffs choose to use it, they are using it at their own peril.”
DoNotPay, also known as a robot lawyer, is among several new AI programs that are making it easier to practice law without the expertise of an attorney.
Jasper and Chat GPT, for example, are writing assistants that create text based on prompts and predictive texting.
“Chat GPT wrote the first two pages of an opening brief that I would use and it was better than I could,” he said. “The current use in that regard got me started writing the rest of the opening. As I write it on the software program, it gives me suggestions. I'll ask it to rewrite it and I've never had so much fun writing.”
Parris and his staff of lawyers are evaluating AI litigation programs with an eye on creating their own software to then share with the 30 law firms they partner with.
“What we're attempting to do is find out their limitations as they are an off-the-shelf software and then we're going to hire somebody to come in and write it for us,” he said. “It's an open-source code and it's designed to do precisely that.”
While DoNotPay operates on a mobile device and devises arguments after hearing court discussions, Parris wants his software to do much more, such as write ‘meet and confer’ letters and even motions to dismiss.
“We’re aiming to scan a defendant’s answers to interrogatories and then having the software write a response,’” he said. “That might be too ambitious but that's what we're aiming for.”
Parris, who is also the mayor of Lancaster in Los Angeles County, is prepared to spend up to $100,000 on the app’s development because he envisions it will save him that much money and more in the future.
“A hundred grand is half a lawyer's salary and I imagine that would mean not having to hire four or five lawyers once we develop it,” he added.