Consumer use of online resources and artificial intelligence continues to evolve and expand in a host of fields, including legal services. Online companies like LegalZoom, ZenBusiness and Rocket Lawyer compete to provide consumers with a cheaper alternative to hiring an attorney.

One could pay a fraction to gain paperwork to help facilitate the forming of a business, drafting estate planning documents, executing contracts and so forth. Many of these services are careful to say that they do not provide legal advice and that consumers are encouraged to obtain separate legal advice. The entire premise is designed to steer consumers away from traditional legal services. For many, this is a problem, potentially a very big problem.

As with most types of professional services, medical, legal, accounting, and so forth, one size really does not fit all. Relying on the “one size” can result in overlooking important state or even local regulations as well as the unique needs of the individual.

At the same time as these online legal service companies are exploding, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are likewise finding their way into most sectors of America’s business and economy, including, of course, legal services.

AI capacities are increasing in truly incredible ways. Today, the most widely used AI platform is ChatGPT with over 180 million people accessing the software since its launch in November 2022. With ChatGPT, a user inputs a question or prompt, allowing ChatGPT to then scour the internet for relevant information, ultimately producing a structured reply.

Unfortunately, as we all know, not all information gleaned from the internet is accurate or even truthful.

ChatGPT and its competitors, therefore, can be dangerous for consumers and professionals because its analytical responses, while appearing well reasoned and well written, can be just flat out wrong.

Students and lawyers alike have been cautioned against relying on these artificial intelligence sources. In one example, a judge sanctioned two New York lawyers who submitted a legal brief that included six fictitious case citations generated by an AI application. The judge sanctioned the lawyers for making false and misleading statements to the court. Ask any high school teacher about students using AI to write assignments, and I’m sure you will hear a wide range of similar stories.

For these reasons and others, consumers and small businesses owners should be extremely cautious when using online legal services or AI programs as a substitute for hiring a lawyer. The risk you are taking on is significant, and you may end up paying more in the long run.

In most circumstances, an attorney owes a client two equally important obligations: to advocate and to counsel. The importance of legal counsel cannot be overlooked.

For most transactional services, there will be an assortment of unique considerations and ramifications that need to be analyzed and accounted for.

Online services and AI may be able to fashion bits of data or basic forms, but they cannot provide the most important element, which is the advice necessary for how to use such information, and/or what critical steps are needed to avoid pitfalls, protect yourself and your business, and account for the myriad challenges you have no ability to even see.

Attorney John M. Parese is a partner at the New Haven-based firm of Buckley Wynne & Parese. He can be reached at 203-776-2278 or [email protected].

This article was featured in the following news publications:

• The New Haven Register
• Connecticut Post
• The Hour
• Stamford Advocate
• Greenwich Time
• News Times
• the Middletown Press
• The Register Citizen