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Artificial intelligence is everywhere. People use it hoping to avoid the time and expense of consulting with a trained and experienced lawyer. They use it to research legal issues (inaccurately), draft documents (improperly), and to receive quick answers to questions (which may not be correct).
Yes, when properly used it can provide a high-level overview of legal concepts and help people understand the vocabulary of a dispute, but context and nuance are important.
There is an important line people should remember:
AI is a tool. And tools need to be used properly. AI is not legal judgement or advice (it will even make that clear to the user). Judgement is where real legal outcomes are decided.
What AI Does Well—and Where It Stops
AI is good at summarizing general information. It can generally explain what a non-compete agreement is, describe the general concept of fiduciary duty, or outline the stages of litigation in broad terms. That can be useful background or to help someone get their bearings.
What AI cannot do is determine:
- What the actual law in your jurisdiction is
- Which facts actually matter
- Which facts are missing
- How a judge in your jurisdiction is likely to react
- In which direction the law may be shifting
- What strategic tradeoffs should be made
- When not to make an argument—even if it appears legally available
Law is not a multiple-choice test. It is analysis and applied judgement within the specific context of your specific situation. It is not cookie-cutter, particularly not in litigation.
Why Legal Experience Still Matters
Every licensed attorney has completed at least three years of formal legal education, prepared for and passed a rigorous bar examination, and ongoing professional and ethical training. But that is only the starting point.
What truly differentiates experienced legal counsel is pattern recognition built over decades:
- Seeing how similar disputes unfolded
- Knowing which arguments sound good on paper but will fail in court
- Understanding how opposing counsel typically operates
- Anticipating the procedural and strategic moves that are not obvious from statutes or case summaries
These insights do not exist in a database. They exist in experience. AI can retrieve information. It cannot replace judgement formed through hundreds or thousands of real cases, negotiations, hearings, and court decisions.
The Risk of “Mostly Right” Legal Advice
One of the most dangerous aspects of AI-generated legal content is that it can be almost right.
A document can appear polished while:
- Missing a critical exception
- Applying the wrong jurisdiction’s law
- Ignoring procedural requirements
- Assuming facts that are not legally supportable
In litigation and high-stakes disputes, “mostly right” can be far worse than obviously wrong. Small errors compound. Strategy built on faulty assumptions often collapses at the worst possible moment.
The Lawyer’s Role Has Not Changed—It Has Become More Important
As AI becomes more accessible, experienced lawyers play a more critical role, not a lesser one.
Our role is to:
- Filter noise from relevance
- Identify risk before it becomes exposure
- Apply judgement, strategy, and discretion
- Protect clients from unintended consequences
Technology can support that work. It cannot replace it.
How We View AI at Our Firm
We view AI the same way we view any tool:
- Useful when properly applied
- Dangerous when misunderstood
- Never a substitute for professional responsibility
- Always verified
We welcome informed clients. We also believe clients deserve advice grounded in law, experience, and accountability—not algorithms.
The Bottom Line
AI may help you understand the landscape. An experienced lawyer helps you navigate it. When your business, assets, reputation, or future are at stake, judgment matters more than speed, and experience still wins.
With offices in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and New York City, we can help you across New York State.
To learn more about these topics, check out our Legalities & Realities® Podcast and blog posts.
You may learn more about us and how we operate by visiting these pages: About Us and What Sets Us Apart.
This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific legal counsel, please contact our office directly.