With the gaining popularity of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence ("AI") has seamlessly integrated into our daily lives, both professionally and personally. The legal industry is no exception. In her article, Alexandra Jones describes how lawyers have started to use AI programs for case management, fact gathering and analysis, and research. In fact, LexisNexis recently released Lexis+ AI, a program that uses AI to generate case law summaries.
In the realm of estate litigation, AI may be effective in various ways. First, an AI tool that predicts the outcome of a dispute could assist clients in determining whether the time and cost of litigation are justified. As outlined in an article by Dan Pinnington, estate disputes tend to involve sensitive emotional and financial issues. Therefore, a prediction that a lawsuit will likely be unsuccessful could encourage clients to quickly and privately settle to avoid the lengthy, expensive, and emotionally taxing court process. Second, AI may be used for capacity assessments. Jones discusses how programs like Deep Patient may determine the onset of psychiatric disorders by identifying patterns based on a patient's test results, doctor visits, and other variables. Deep Patient may be a valuable tool in guardianship cases and could mitigate estate disputes by warning those losing capacity to protect their assets. Third, in the investment industry, robo-advisors provide investment recommendations based on algorithms. In the estates world, Jones highlights how similar technology exists, whereby clients answer questions about certain topics, such as income and financial goals, and the program recommends a plan of action. Finally, AI technology may be used in alternative dispute resolution. In Canada, a robot mediator was used instead of a human mediator to settle a three-month-long dispute in less than an hour, suggesting that AI may occupy a significant place in dispute resolution.
It is important to note that AI legal software is still developing and therefore has certain limitations. In The Use of AI-Based Technologies in Arbitrating Trust Disputes, Lee-ford Tritt explains how humans use deductive reasoning, common sense, and logic when making legal judgments. As a result, our thought processes are flexible to adequately evaluate a specific dispute. On the other hand, AI programs use statistical formulas and pattern recognition to produce a predictive output of what a human would decide. Currently, AI-based decision-making is effective for noncomplex and low-conflict disputes, such as commercial law or small claims disputes. However, as Paul Bennett Marrow, Mansi Karol and Steven Kuyan warn in their article, AI's usefulness rapidly declines when applied to fact-sensitive, hostile, and emotionally charged disputes, such as estate disputes.
Overall, the future of AI in estate litigation seems to be promising, and we are excited to see how AI further enhances our profession.
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