The Reinvention of Advocacy and Administration of Justice

Lawyers are indispensable to the administration of justice. This principle, found in the most diverse laws around the world, albeit more or less explicitly, usually marks the actions and justifies the need of lawyers. But while this is a guarantee of the profession, that principle derives from one of the most admirable functions in a democracy: to provide and guarantee the defense of the public freedoms of every citizen.

However, at a time when some vehemently affirm the end of lawyers, is the end of the guarantee of the exercise of justice also approaching? At a time when it is claimed that the practice of law will be replaced by robots, who will be in charge of the administration of justice?

Reinventing is necessary!

It is not necessary to be a digital transformation expert to be absolutely certain that, with regard to traditional advocacy, until recently we found well-dressed, austere ladies and gentlemen sitting in comfortable chairs almost like royal thrones and then said to own the truth, always surrounded by dusty books and piles of processes, it already enjoys the state of extinction.

On the other hand, the offices and corporate lawyers will have the sublime task of reinvention. Almost by natural selection, those who are able to adapt and seek legal and ethical conformity to their already historical characteristics in conjunction with the new cognitive, behavioral skills and those imposed by revolutionary new systems brought about by Revolution 4.0 – and with it the fusion of physical, digital and biological worlds – these will survive. Similarly, those who deny or delay reinventing themselves will be lost in the dust of their Vademuns.

Contrary to what has just been seen, and as with patients who predict diagnosis even before health professionals analyze their cases, even the simplest search tools guarantee anyone the anticipation not only of their case analysis. but even of their sentences. That is, simply “ask google” so that anyone suddenly turns into a dabbling and their lawsuits have almost unapproachable chance of success, thanks to the immediate analysis of case law by robots, most often for free.

New and Necessary Ways of Working

It is undeniable that standardized services that do not require a great deal of technical or intellectual effort – which were commonly outsourced to early-career professionals – will be transferred to operating systems that can eventually reach unthinkable analyzes for an infinite group of professionals, even for the most experienced. We are not only talking about jurimetry tools, but also about the new and prominent technologies brought about by artificial intelligence.

It will then be up to the lawyer to deal with issues foreign to his comfort zone and the humanities, as we will be called upon to act on new programming concepts and practices, algorithms, artificial intelligence, smart contracts, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, new forms of constitution of law firms, lawtechs and virtual courts. We will act in an environment of infinite interconnectedness, exposure and, in some cases, of forcible exhibitionism of privacy to public perception, interpretation and judgment. Still, we will bump into the limits of mapping our spending habits, the use of our personal information, and topics as few discussed as algorithmic governance – that is, a new market opens up for those who want to accept this challenge.

Even in the face of so many technologies, let’s not forget that law is a human science!

Finally, I believe that it is worth reflecting, as no new technology will be able to remove the lawyer from his exercise and the guarantee of justice. Just as justice will undergo adaptations and reinterpretations, the legal practitioner, as explained in the lines above, must also undergo such renewal. However, it is important to emphasize that even in a new era of reinvention of the profession, however well prepared lawyer should never forget that the main competitive and differential capital of this profession is to bring to the relationship with our clients the human touch, ensuring his dignity in the most diverse fields of law – this is irreplaceable and unreachable, not even by the latest technology or the best programmed algorithm.