AI & The Law: A Discussion with Dessislav Dobrev
Session 1 of 2
Imagine a ‘chatbot lawyer’ that passes the Turing Test. Imagine a machine that can ‘learn’ how to spot issues in a contract or predict outcome of litigation. Envision a non-human unit that can ‘review’ case law or legislation to provide a response to a legal question. You don’t have to simply imagine this, we can see it together in this session as AI technology is rapidly creating a viable path from conjecture to reality on many such questions, prompting a larger one: Are we prepared? This presentation will explore specific examples of machine learning applications in the provision of legal services, such as adapting AI NLP to legal language; using AI models built on case datasets in the prediction of legal outcomes (such as through judicial analytics and substantive judicial prediction); employing AI in contract review, issue-spotting and other due diligence tasks; and use of AI in adjudication. The session will also review the principles of AI customization for legal practice such as feasibility, value-add, testability and measurability. Finally, this segment will also sketch the lines between what AI can do and the areas of AI limitations where the competitive advantages of the human lawyer will likely persist. AI compels us to rethink the role of the lawyer in an AI-accelerated legal landscape.
Dessislav Dobrev is a leading expert in artificial intelligence and the law and has spearheaded AI matters in both academia and practice. His recent book Artificial Intelligence and the Law: A Comprehensive Guide for the Legal Profession, Academia and Society, published by Thomson Reuters, has been endorsed by high-profile academics, leading law practitioners and global AI leaders. This timely volume is one of the first comprehensive studies of how AI will dramatically affect the law, both as a profession and a regulatory domain, as well as society at large. A practice manual for lawyers, a governance guidebook for policymakers, a risk assessment toolkit for businesses, and a legal discourse that can be easily adapted for academia, this groundbreaking publication discusses the technical capabilities of AI in the practice of law and its ethical, legal, political, and socio-economic implications. As an Adjunct Professor, Dessislav created and taught new law school courses on AI at McGill Law School, has previously taught at Georgetown Law School, and has provided seminars on AI at other leading institutions such as the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and the NY Bar Association. He is currently practicing international law at the World Bank Group, where he is exposed to AI issues at the global level. Previously, Dessislav practiced law at Davis Polk in New York. He is trained in both civil law and common law, including an LLM at the Faculty of Law of the University of Toronto.
