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Damien Riehl's avatar

This is so smart. What's lawyers' product? We don't provide widgets (e.g., contracts, briefs, information). We provide trust (aka peace of mind). "I trust you — in a way that I don't trust AI."

Humans can look other humans in the eye: "I simplify complexity; I have your back." That's peace of mind.

Owen McGrann's avatar

Great piece. I've been a bit amazed by the speed at which GenAI has stepped into a position I thought would be secure for a while, at least.

As I'm turning my firm into something that doesn't resemble anything like a law firm, I've told my team that at the core of what we're building has to be trust. Everything we do has to be centered first and foremost on establishing trust--from UX/UI to security and privacy to the way we speak with customers.

In a world of epistemological weightlessness, where technical skill is being commodified, perhaps the differentiator is simply ("simply") trust. And so, we build with trust (and transformation) in mind.

Ben Bratman's avatar

People generally might be turning to AI for humanity (for therapy or companionship), but that reflects some sort of social dysfunction more broadly. It does not mean, at least to me, that clients needing legal services are or will be the same. I agree with the point of the latter half of your post—about lawyers as stewards who provide peace of mind. But that type of service requires the humanity and the various “human” skills that you have described before as crucial for lawyers in the age of generative AI.

Jacinta Gallant's avatar

Yes! We need to be trusted to listen and understand and find ways through the messiness of human endeavour - life, business, family, conflict, re-building, problem-solving AFTER understanding.