Related Posts
Additional Posts in Paralegals
Mentor
Do small law firms have paralegal managers?
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
Sign Up to see all discussions
- Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
- Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
- Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
"" is an unusual email domain. If correct, please proceed to the next step
Messaging rates may apply
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Share
Embed this post
Copy and paste embed code on your site
Preview
Download the
Fishbowl app
Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile
Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl
Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl
Messaging rates may apply
2 - AI is only as good as the person behind it. I’m actually taking a course (behind the scenes) to put myself in a position of being “the” a/i go-to person. Don’t let it intimidate you - it only knows what you teach it.
I started with videos on YouTube - just random stuff then moved on the the free videos on LinkedIn which move at your own pace. You should google “AI for paralegals” and you’ll get a bunch of stuff. All the ones I did were free. I even audited a class through Harvard; I didn’t get credit for it but I learned a lot. Then I went on chatGPT and told it what I did, specifically and asked it how it can help me with my daily tasks.
Short answer: 4
Long answer: I think it really depends on the type of paralegal you are: meaning, if you are a paralegal who simply does legal research, and those roles exist, I would be worried.
But AI can’t help with trial prep, AI can’t be boots on the ground (yet, lol).
My particular paralegal role is an in-house role where I do legal research among many other tasks, including client contact.
Now, yes, many of my jobs can be overtaken by AI, but for now, it absolutely needs human eyes to ensure accuracy.
I’m looking at retirement hopefully in the next 15 years, and I think I’ll be OK. That said, if I was a newer paralegal, I would be starting to look at other options as far as legal tech and/or other career paths.
At my company, they are really pushing AI and for us to use our AI platform (essentially ChatGPT, but with a proprietary name which I won’t mention here), so I know my company is all in with AI.
It will be interesting to see the professional evolve, and my advice to any younger paralegal is to definitely have a Plan B.
I am not worried. My boss paid me to become our in-house expert and work with our tech team to integrate into our existing workflows and create new ones that weren't possible before AI. I feel like it's helping me to make a huge impact on the profitability of my firm, but the fact that my boss is on board makes that possible.
I love it because it does help streamline research and summarizing. I've taken training to be a specialized AI user in my firm.The higher ups have pitched it to our clients so as long as we get their approval beforehand, we can use AI and bill them at a slightly higher rate. When used properly, it’s a great tool. I’m not worried about it taking my job.
my firm uses West Law and they have their own AI program called CoCounsel within the west law platform. Since they brought on the use of it, I was able to train with the reps from west law on how to use it.
I alternate between 1 and 10.
my attorneys still cant figure out Adobe, Zoom, etc. I’m not worried about it taking my job for a long time.
Some of my attorneys still can’t figure out how to convert a Word document into a PDF.
0 - it can't do 99% of what paras do.
10 lol. I think about it constantly and I'm really worried about the future of my job. Not my job, but our entire industry, and tons of other industries. I'm curious how we aren't all going to be jobless in the next decade or so.
I don't think it's any different than what is already on the internet. AI is just a form of data retrieval and will pretty much take over our business world. Half the time, with the new AI search option on my browser, the facts are wrong. I'm about at 8 on the worry scale.
There was a worry about ediscovery and how that would drive paralegals out. It created a whole new set of responsibilities. I see AI being the same, would make a ton of tasks easier but at the same time create slew of responsibilities.
11. I have friends in other industries who were laid off because of AI and can no longer find work anywhere. AI improvements are happening so fast and I don't think it will be long at all before many paralegals start finding themselves out of a job as well.
0. My firm says absolutely to not use it.
You should take an AI course and quit. Your firm is going to be left in the dust. : )
Subject Expert
1. Because I'm not worried about Ai. I know what it is and there is nothing I can do about it. So, I chose to just do my work to the best of my ability and move forward in improving wherever I need improvement when I need improvement. I can not allow technically to steal my peace.