Newly graduated lawyers seen at their graduation ceremony at the Jerusalem congress center
Newly graduated lawyers seen at their graduation ceremony at the Jerusalem congress centerYossi Zamir/Flash 90

Are we close to the day when advanced technology replaces lawyers? A conference on the subject took place a few days ago in Israel which deals with the significance of advanced technology regarding the legal profession, conflict resolution and management.

Ido Goldberg, Director of the legal tech department at Robus Legal Marketing and Consulting Services, spoke to Arutz Sheva about legal technology today. When asked if he believes that technology will replace legal professionals in the future, an issue that worries many young Israelis, he said: “This is a growing concern in almost every field that includes technology. This is what happened in banking and in automotive industry.”

Goldberg estimates that “in the long run lawyers will not lose their jobs but technological innovations will change the way they practice law.”

“These solutions will actually help lawyers perform better. Lawyers will be able to do quality work and less technical work,” Goldberg added, noting that in the US this has been happening for several years. “Legal professionals there do meaningful work and provide better service. Lawyers can manage their time better and make their services more affordable.”

Goldberg described an iPhone that can be asked simple legal questions and provide answers and pull information from legal precedents, verdicts and data bases.

The lawyer will make the decisions about how to prevent the information in court and, therefore, according to Goldberg, “lawyers will not disappear so fast.”

He claims that there is a great deal of interest among lawyers who see this as an opportunity to provide better service and improve efficiency. They realize it doesn’t mean that they are being replaced but, rather, aided by technology and that people will soon recognize this.

What about the judges? Can we replace their need to delve through mountains of archival material before pronouncing a verdict with some form of technology? Goldberg theorizes that the judge will always have the final word no matter how the information is obtained.

Goldberg says that the millions of cases requiring mediation and conflict resolution for businesses will be done more efficiently with technology.

Will technology change the way we study law? Goldberg estimates that nothing can replace common sense, intelligence and analytical skills but “will enable the use of supportive tools. It won’t make anyone into Superman. It won’t enable instant knowledge retention. Nothing can replace will and hard work. I don’t see this as undergoing significant change.”

Several years ago, it was reported by Israel Courts Administration, that Israel is first in the world in the number of lawyers per capita.