By: Ryan Fritsch

ChatGPT is barely five months old but has already reframed how the profession discusses legal-tech and access to justice. And little wonder why. To paraphrase science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, the AI-powered text generator appears sufficiently advanced to be indistinguishable from magic.

The latest version – ChatGPT4 – has already demonstrated its legal chops by scoring in the 90th percentile of the LSAT and Uniform Bar Exam. It can draft facta, contracts, custody settlements and affidavits. It can summarize and contrast case law or write closing arguments. Non-lawyers will get pithy, plain-language descriptions of rights related to wrongful dismissal, human rights discrimination, breaking a rental tenancy or criminal charges.