The legal industry is not an exception to the way technology is continuing to reshape various other businesses. A new way of handling legal issues is being tested that recognises and incorporates the emergence of generative AI, particularly for those within Singapore’s Small Claims Tribunal (SCT). Although it is still in its early stages, artificial intelligence (AI) could be helpful for litigants in framing their claims and defences. Here is what you need to understand on how artificial intelligence is influencing the legal industry and what it implies for you as a client:
Small Claims Tribunal
As mentioned above, the testing of AI is first being rolled out in the STC which deals with claims under $20,000 without the allowance of legal representation of litigants. This lack of assistance from a lawyer typically causes difficulty understanding legal terms and concepts, therefore this is therefore, objectively, the perfect environment for testing these assistance AI tools. With the use of these AI resources, self-represented litigants can better prepare their arguments and defences. AI can help them organise their arguments and walk them through legal concepts, giving people who are not familiar with the law a helpful “starting point.” This makes it possible for litigants to have more legal knowledge to ease the process, which can at times seem daunting to non-legal persons.
Pros:
Beyond the practical benefit, one key benefit for both litigants and lawyers is the idea that AI could significantly lower legal expenses . Legal proceedings can have dramatically varying costs. For instance, because of the complexity and time commitment required, high court proceedings involving claims above $250,000 can rapidly reach the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
AI can cut down on the amount of time lawyers need to spend on preparation tasks such as case analysis, document drafting, and legal research. A lawyer could utilise AI in conducting a lot of background work rather than spending five or more hours of paid work on it. This change could both speed the procedure while saving clients a substantial amount of money.
Cons:
Although the use of AI is a beneficial advancement, it comes with a downside, in that it isn’t human. Although AI has the capability to be a very useful tool for providing an understanding of legal concepts, it is clear that if there was one element that AI could not reproduce it would be empathy for the client and a dedication to represent. AI is unable to form a connection and work with you to figure out your concerns and wants that need to be entered into the computer to even use AI. Even if AI can set up the groundwork and the legal background, at the end of the day a lawyer has the final say in persuading the judge that the AI’s stance is correct. Emotional intelligence is key to the structure of a case, and human to human connection is something that AI can unfortunately not recreate.
The second issue is that AI is not always right. As an evolving and relatively new tool, AI has its flaws, such as its ability to make things up including fake case citations and legal concepts. Although it is an incredibly helpful legal tool, AI is not a substitute. The caveat of utilising AI as a tool, especially for self-represented clients, is that to avoid misrepresentation of legal facts and cases you have to fact check and stress check that information through a lawyer.
The development of AI is making changes in Singapore’s legal system. For help with navigating the technological advancements or if you would like to see how you could benefit from both the use of AI and our team’s vast legal experience, feel free to contact us.