The ABA website report from the annual CLIO shindig.
Clio CEO and founder Jack Newton speaks at the 2023 Clio Cloud Conference on Oct. 9. “Like the cloud and the smartphone, AI is going to reshape every industry it touches,” Newton said. Photo courtesy of Clio.
While generative artificial intelligence will transform legal work, there are key differences in how legal professionals and clients are thinking about AI, with clients more optimistic about the tech, according to Clio’s eighth annual Legal Trends Report, which Clio founder and CEO Jack Newton introduced Monday.
2023 Legal Trends Report
In today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving legal industry, staying one step ahead is crucial.
This year’s comprehensive report provides valuable insights that can help you navigate the rapidly changing landscape of the legal world. Discover the immense impact of legal technology and gain a deeper understanding of where your firm might be falling short with a new “Lockup” metric. See how competitive your rates are with valuable data on average billable hours by state and practice area. Plus, get an exclusive glimpse into the perspectives of legal professionals on the hot topic of AI.
When Newton took the stage at last year’s Clio Cloud Conference, it was just weeks before OpenAI released its now-wildly popular chatbot ChatGPT in November 2022. In the months since, generative AI might not have upended the legal industry, but it has been disruptive, with many law firms making use of the new technology.
Newton, who spoke Monday morning in the ballroom of the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, to open this year’s Clio Cloud Conference, said generative AI could meet the massive demand for legal services to help narrow the justice gap.
“AI is the biggest innovation we’ve seen in a generation. It’s an advancement as significant as the invention of the transistor or the PC,” Newton said. “Like the cloud and the smartphone, AI is going to reshape every industry it touches.”
ChatGPT has sparked intense debate about the future of work, with some lawyers and legal professionals worried that AI could replace them. For Newton, the answer to the question of whether the technology will make lawyers obsolete is an “emphatic no.”
“Ultimately, this isn’t a matter of AI replacing lawyers, any more than spreadsheets replaced accountants. AI won’t make lawyers irrelevant. But those who embrace it will dominate over those that do not,” Newton said.
The Legal Trends Report surveyed 1,446 legal professionals, including lawyers, paralegals and administrators, from May 31 to July 20; and 1,012 adults in the U.S. general population, from June 13 to June 22.
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