Since the rise of Chat GTP, there has been a correlated increase in the debate of whether artificial intelligence will eventually render the role of the lawyer futile. After all, AI is gaining traction as a useful tool to analyze and synthesize great amounts of documentation, a large part of what lawyers and legal clerks do. In fact, in 2023, Goldman Sachs reported that generative AI currently has the potential to automate 44 percent of legal tasks. However, how much can the output of generative AI really be applied to the realm of family law?
In a recently published family law case from British Columbia, Zhang v Chen, 2024 BCSC 285, Ms. Zhang successfully defended against her husband, Mr. Chen’s application for an order to allow their children to travel overseas to spend time with their father. Problematically, opposing counsel realized that the Notice of Application submitted to the court on behalf of Chen’s counsel relied on two non-existent cases. During the costs hearing, Zhang’s counsel admitted, “I made a serious mistake…referring to two cases suggested by Chat GPT without verifying the source of information. I had no idea that these cases could be erroneous.” Ultimately, the court awarded Zhang special costs personally against Chen’s counsel for the extra cost incurred by Zhang’s counsel’s attempts to locate the non-existent cases. Following the case, the Law Society of British Columbia reported that they were launching an investigation into the professional conduct of Chen’s Counsel.
Although many discussions around AI in family law revolve around how AI would have a hard time replacing the emotional and interpersonal skills essential to a family lawyer, it seems that its legal research proficiency has also been overstated. The reality is that the reliability and credibility of today’s publicly accessible generative AI has quite a long way to go before it is adequately incorporated into the profession, let alone “takes over” the family law profession.
As the quality of publicly accessible AI currently stands, lawyers and self-represented litigants alike must exercise an abundance of caution not to jeopardize their case by overly relying on such programs to streamline their research.
Roxanna is a 3L at Osgoode and a Co-Publications Director for the Osgoode Hall Family Law Association.
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