Thread · HN Continuity

Outside of court proceedings, a significant proportion of what law offices do is already extremely streamlined. Stuff like wills, deeds, incorporation paperwork, is all template-based and any remaining work is done by paralegals, then billed at outrageous rates. So I'm not actually sure if AI makes it a whole lot cheaper. Maybe it makes it harder to pretend.

But there's also a good reason why lawyers can keep charging these fees: because they have a say on who can practice the profession. Unlike software engineers and like doctors, they're in charge and will not allow autonomous systems to represent you or otherwise "practice law". That'd be suicide.

Also, for many services, downward price pressure already exists to some extent, in that there are various "low-stakes" virtual legal firms licensed in multiple states that provide forms you can fill and then file for $50 a pop instead of $500 a pop. But most consumers still prefer to visit a local law office. I'm not sure this will change with AI. I know quite a few people who are keen to self-diagnose using Google or ChatGPT, but I don't know as many inclined to vibecode their articles of incorporation.

It's really one of these white-collar professions that I think is quite secure. Software engineers are hosed to a greater extent, having enthusiastically engineered their own personal hell.