Episode 78 Automating the Legal Profession: The Vision and the Implications

Tech Uncensored - An Altitude Accelerator Podcast

AI has gained significant momentum in service professions, especially in the legal sector, has attracting substantial venture capital investment and transforming traditional workflows.

In 2023 survey, 73% of legal professionals said planned on integrating AI into their legal work. Lawyers commented that these tools are becoming increasingly significant in their daily work, as legal solutions are able to quickly handle large volumes of data and analyze complicated legal issues.

Venture capitalists are heavily investing in AI-powered legal tech startups, with funding in the sector reaching new highs in 2024. We saw 58 deals in legal tech with a total capital investment of $477 million. The appeal for VCs lies in the fact that 44% of legal work could potentially be automated by emerging AI tools. Startups like Harvey, raised a $100 million in their Series C round at a $1.5 billion valuation.

The implications for the legal profession are significant. AI is reshaping traditional workflows, with 70% of professional services respondents already seeing benefits from AI-powered technologies in tasks such as research, drafting, and document summarization. However, there remains some trepidation with 25% of professional respondents seeing artificial intelligence as a threat.

Ben Su, a legal tech entrepreneur, founder of Capita, the world’s first AI Lawyer. Su argues that the true potential of AI in legal services goes beyond mere efficiency gains. Su envisions AI eliminating workflows entirely and creating proactive, always-on systems that solve legal problems before they arise. He contends that the legal industry is stuck in outdated systems and that the real opportunity lies in building AI-driven solutions that fundamentally reimagine legal services.

While Su's vision is more radical than current market offerings, the trend towards AI adoption in this sector is clear. Law firms and legal departments not moving towards AI risk falling behind as AI begins to permeate industry.

We are pleased to speak to Ben Su to talk about his progressive views on how AI can revolutionize the legal profession. How does he envisions his company in providing greater access and efficiency for business AND what will this mean for not only this legal profession but the future of other professions.