Lewis & Clark Law Review
First Page
951
Abstract
This Comment discusses liability for the use of autonomous “robot lawyers” in the practice of law. A “robot lawyer” is an artificially intelligent (AI) software program that performs legal tasks traditionally handled by lawyers. Law firms currently use “non-autonomous” robot lawyers that operate under the supervision of a human attorney to assist in legal research, e-discovery, and contract drafting. In the future, “autonomous” robot lawyers that operate without human oversight may one day represent clients. However, courts and legislatures have not determined who will be liable for errors, omissions, malpractice, or other harms caused by autonomous robot lawyers. This Note first discusses the current use of non-autonomous robot lawyers and how human attorneys will be subject to malpractice liability for the use of these non-autonomous robot lawyers in their law practice. Second, this Note discusses how malpractice liability and other theories of liability might not apply to autonomous robot lawyers that operate without attorney supervision because AI raises unique issues of foreseeability, agency, and personhood. Finally, this Note argues that courts should hold an autonomous robot lawyer, i.e. the software itself, legally liable for its own actions and proposes several mechanisms for doing so.
Recommended Citation
Michael Loy,
Legal Liability for Artificially Intelligent "Robot Lawyers",
26
Lewis & Clark L. Rev.
951
(2022).
Available at:
https://lawcommons.lclark.edu/lclr/vol26/iss3/9
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