Automated Contracts Vs Human Contract Lawyers
In this digital age, where innovation drives efficiency and convenience, the idea of employing AI to draft contracts is an attractive prospect. AI, exemplified by tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing Copilot and legal bots, promise rapid results, sophisticated language, and adaptability to cater to varied writing styles and tones. Yet, there are significant considerations and drawbacks to using AI in such a critical area as contract drafting.
The Benefits of AI in Contract Drafting
There is no doubt that AI contract drafting is a highly productive way to generate contracts. Here are some of the advantages:
Speed and Efficiency: AI can churn out contract drafts quickly, potentially saving time and resources.
Sophisticated Language: AI can mimic complex legal language effectively, break down confusing terminology and produce contracts that appear professionally drafted.
Adaptability: AI can adapt to various writing styles, formats and tones, providing tailored outputs based on user preferences.
Accessibility: By reducing costs and streamlining the process, AI makes legal services more accessible to the public.
Consistency: Automated contract drafting reduces the risk of human error and inconsistencies.
The Downfalls of AI in Contract Drafting
The problem with AI in contract drafting is that it lacks human initiative and personalisation. Here are some disadvantages:
Accuracy: While AI can produce content quickly, its accuracy is not guaranteed. It may miss recent legal updates or nuances crucial for legal validity.
Legal Experience: AI lacks the legal expertise and experience of human lawyers, particularly in delicate legal interpretations and personalisation.
Validity: AI-generated contracts may lack completeness or fail to comply with applicable laws, requiring the need for legal review for validity.
Privacy Concerns: The use of AI raises the risk of privacy concerns. Where sensitive or personal information is provided to AI it can leave individuals vulnerable to exposure if information were to be hacked or leaked.
Lack of Personal Judgment: While AI can analyse patterns and provide helpful recommendations, it lacks the judgment and context awareness that human lawyers have.
Complex Situations: AI may struggle to fully comprehend highly complex or novel legal scenarios.
Risk of Overreliance: Relying solely on AI for contract drafting may lead to complacency which will increase the chances of contracts having gaps or being unreliable. Human oversight is essential to catch any issues or risks.
10 Benefits of the Human Lawyer Touch
Whilst AI is fantastic and very helpful in drafting legal contracts, having a human touch is something that can’t be beaten by AI at the moment.
1. Legal Expertise: Human lawyers have years of knowledge, experience, and expertise that AI currently cannot match. Lawyers must stay updated on current legal developments, case law, and industry-specific regulations in order to provide accurate legal advice. As such, they ensure contracts align with current legal standards.
2. Compliance Assurance: Human lawyers ensure legal compliance, vital for the validity and enforceability of contracts across jurisdictions.
3. Insurance and Regulation: Contract lawyers have the relevant insurance in place to support you if something goes wrong with the contract. Contract lawyers are also regulated by a governing body or bodies which means that the advice they give is reliable and at a minimum competency level.
4. Personalisation: Human lawyers offer personalised legal advice and drafting, considering individual circumstances and preferences.
5. Creativity and Adaptability: Legal situations can be complex and unique and often, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Human lawyers can think creatively, adapt to changing circumstances, and draft customised clauses based on specific client requirements.
6. Negotiation Skills: In many instances, contract drafting involves negotiation between parties and getting the best terms for everyone. Human lawyers excel at understanding client goals, advocating for their interests, and finding mutually beneficial solutions.
7. Risk Assessment: Lawyers assess legal risks associated with contract terms. They identify potential weaknesses, opportunities, uncertainties, and areas where disputes could arise. Their expertise is vital in helping clients make informed decisions and feel confident and protected.
8. Ethical Considerations: Lawyers must adhere to professional ethics and confidentiality. This means that any sensitive information is handled carefully and ethically.
9. Client Relationships: Unlike AI, lawyers build trust and relationships with clients over time. They understand client preferences, business goals, and long-term strategies which makes for more robust and more effective contracts, delivered with a personal touch.
10. Follow-Up Questions: Once a contract has been drafted and produced for the client, it is common for people to want to clarify certain points and ask questions about why certain terminology or terms have been used. This is a very simple ask when dealing with a human lawyer, but may not be possible with AI. You may or may not be able to ask the AI tool why it included certain points, but it may not understand or be able to explain why, as it is using patterns and information to create the contract rather than through its own lived experience and knowledge of the law.
The Hybrid Approach: Leveraging Both AI and Human Expertise
While AI presents undeniable advantages in speed and language sophistication, its limitations in legal expertise, personalisation and compliance highlight the importance of human involvement in contract drafting. The ideal approach would involve leveraging AI for initial drafts and efficiency gains, followed by a human lawyer review for accuracy, validity, compliance assurance and any follow-up questions and clarifications that the client may have. This means that you can benefit from both accuracy and efficiency with a client-focused approach by AI and humans working together to achieve incredible results.
Automate Your Contract Drafting Through AI and Human Lawyers With Gerrish Legal
At Gerrish Legal, we've revolutionised contract drafting with our Contract Portal and the introduction of our AI bot, your personal digital lawyer.
Through our innovative automation tool, you can effortlessly generate bespoke Service Agreements and Confidentiality Agreements by interacting with our intelligent Gerrish Legal bot.
By simply answering a series of questions, tailored to extract the necessary information, the bot uses pre-drafted terms and clauses crafted by our highly experienced contract lawyers. Once the responses are provided, the bot swiftly assembles the contract, customising it to suit the unique needs of each client.
This seamless process not only saves time and effort but also minimises the risk of errors. You don’t have to rely on the capacity of our lawyers, you can call on our legal bot at any time that suits you.
We understand the importance of clarity and comprehension, which is why our clients have the option to seek clarification or further guidance from our human legal team once the contract is produced. With Gerrish Legal, harnessing the power of AI simplifies contract drafting without compromising on quality or client support.
You and your contracting party will have a secure and coherent agreement that you can rely on, giving you the peace of mind you need when doing business with third parties. If you want to benefit from our automated contract drafting tool, you can access our contract portal here. You can also book a 30-minute consultation with one of our human lawyers if you need any bespoke advice!
How Can Gerrish Legal Help?
Gerrish Legal is a dynamic digital law firm. We pride ourselves on giving high-quality and expert legal advice to our valued clients. We specialise in many aspects of digital law such as GDPR, data privacy, digital and technology law, commercial law, and intellectual property.
We give companies the support they need to successfully and confidently run their businesses whilst complying with legal regulations without the burdens of keeping up with ever-changing digital requirements.
We are here to help you, get in contact with us today for more information.