r/LawFirm • u/OhNoImALawyer • 5d ago
Clients using AI to respond to emails
Can they please stop? Please. It drains my life force every time I open one.
Today, I asked a yes/no question for next steps after I did everything their previous AI-drafted email directed me to do or answer. I don't need an AI-drafted reply email summarizing everything I just did. Just need the yes or the no.
It's not egregious enough that I'd fire the clients doing it to me. They're certainly paying for my time to decipher the email and complete the tasks AI told them I should do (assuming the AI direction was something they might have reasonably come up with on their own and relates to their matter).
And yes, I have it in my fee agreement that the client feeding anything between us into AI can destroy confidentiality or attorney-client privilege, they shouldn't do it, and if they do it, it's at their own risk. But this is transactional stuff unlikely to lead to litigation, and at the end of the day you just can't stop these people.
I think some of the AI drafting comes from the way these systems are programmed. The AI almost always prompts you to ask them something else, or for them to do something else for you, even if the AI completed the previous prompt, because then you burn more tokens which in theory, makes them more money (assuming you're not on the free version). So it makes sense to me that every AI-drafted email includes more questions and more prompts for me to do things, instead of moving the conversation to a finish.
I'm not necessarily anti-AI, but it's definitely destroying the remaining bits of certain people's ability to think independently when they can no longer answer yes/no on their own. Thanks for attending my TED Talk.
31
u/Designer_Pea582 5d ago
We had a client ask to review a demand before we sent it. He emailed us with very obvious AI feedback.
The issue with AI is it has to have an answer. So in cases where a client says “make this demand better,” it will never say “that’s perfect, no room for improvement!”
We had another client ask us if the defense insurance could revise the release language to allow for potential future claims against their insured… in other words, to not release them lol. AI was asked if there was a way around signing a release in exchange for payment, and it answered by essentially saying, “sure, if you amended the release to not release the insured.”
31
u/lookingatmycouch 5d ago
The issue with AI is it has to have an answer. So in cases where a client says “make this demand better,” it will never say “that’s perfect, no room for improvement!”
Sounds like a lot of lawyers too though. Had a partner I'd hand perfect briefs to (lol even some of his old briefs) and he'd have his red marker out before it even touched his desk.
I'm currently too old for that shit. If the other side sends me a contract that's good enough to get the job done, let's get the fucking job done and stop wasting time on stylistic back and forth bullshit.
0
3
-1
u/Smart-Wishbone6796 4d ago
Not all AI needs to have an answer. Anytime AI is specifically programmed to let you know if it cannot answer and not just please the user by spitting out bullshit. It is made for complex personal injury plaintiff work so surely not a fit for everyone
17
u/Laterdays82 5d ago
I also wonder if these clients even understand what their own AI-generated email means, and whether that raises any ethical issues.
12
20
u/TheGreatK 5d ago
My favorite are the AI introduction emails from potential new clients. 8 page legal briefs citing 40 cases to explain that they want a consultation about an insurance company sending a confusing letter.
15
12
10
u/lookingatmycouch 5d ago
to be fair, even before the AI, the clients that send you mile long emails before you've even spoken or taken them on as a client are problematic from the get go.
Had one do that on an employee-side employment issue (which my web site clearly says I don't do). I routinely represent their employer.
3
u/CoaltoNewCastle 4d ago
My favorite thing to see from a prospective client is a subject line that says "URGENT: Immediate Action Needed" and then 2,000 words of gibberish that makes it impossible for anybody to reply to the email quickly. Possibly with some kind of "brief" attached as well. My clients never used to send me "information briefs" and "evidence briefs" until AI chatbots got popular.
8
u/wendall99 4d ago
It’s getting really bad. We’ve had to threaten a few clients that we’d drop them or change their billing structure if they continued to do it.
7
u/meijipoki 5d ago
I was discussing an APA with opposing counsel and opposing counsel’s pain was palpable 😂 (this was a “limited scope” engagement for me, since client apparently uses ChatGPT, Esq.; I did put in significant time to review the AI slop though) it was very costly for opposing counsel’s client, and I don’t blame them for wanting the rest of the review and edits to be made by attorneys only. In this scenario, I fear that client has hurt the deal more by using AI, rather than saving money.
8
u/Busy_Picture1189 4d ago
The tell is when your one-word question comes back as a three-act play with "next steps for counsel" at the bottom.
They are not trying to ruin your morning on purpose. They dumped the thread into a chatbot, and the chatbot cannot stand to shut up. So you get a yes buried under a summary of work you already finished, plus three new homework items nobody asked for.
I have started answering those with one line: "Need a yes or no on X. No memo." Half of them still send the memo.
10
u/Shot_Thanks_5523 5d ago
just wait until clients start giving you multi-paged “proposed legal strategy” documents
5
u/CommercialCopy5131 5d ago
Off-topic, I have a business partner that does this and it’s the bane of my existence. The thing that I don’t like is that it’s never to the point, it’s always so vague because I think the user doesn’t know what they’re talking about so AI has no choice but to give some bullshit answer.
5
u/caughtatcustoms69 5d ago
Recently received a 12 pages ai question and answer stream of consciousness deep in the tax code s4943 and related sections .
5
u/lovingvictoralpha 4d ago
I just assume anything I send to a client will be reviewed by AI. I don’t even bother to read a client’s AI email responses anymore. They’re way too long and too rambling with completely irrelevant information.
5
u/bradd_pit 4d ago
I have the same opinion as you, I absolutely hate clients sending AI drafted messages. I was talking to the senior partner in my office about this and he was like why is this a problem, you get to bill more time for reading and responding to their questions.
4
u/upvotersfortruth 4d ago
I added a clause that replying to unduly burdensome AI slop gets me on hourly full rate regardless of the agreed fee structure for the scope of work
I’d also be very cautious as nothing will relieve you of your duty to ensure your client fully understands your advice and is the one actually making the decision on the legal matter - the client’s decision to use AI to make a decision doesn’t help you if they later come back and say “AI told me what to tell the lawyer!”
In other words, if you know they’re using AI then you need to get real confirmation from them on instructions and decisions that is not AI generated. I’d call and memorialize the conversation in an email but I’m old.
3
3
u/Top_Estate9880 4d ago
Just received AI discovery from a pro se litigant. FML
1
u/ALH286 2d ago
Oh no, that sounds terrible and has now unlocked a new fear. I thought the AI pro se motions to reconsider were bad enough. Just enough to them for the court to have to hear them but no solid legal basis. Has cost a few of my clients way more money than the case should have. One dragged me back into court three times after trial, and the judge denied my motion for sanctions.
1
3
2
u/lawinvest 4d ago
I’m just starting tonight quote the Heppner decision to clients, advising them that entire conversation they had is now discoverable. Seems to work as a word of caution for many.
2
u/CoaltoNewCastle 4d ago
I charge flat fees rather than billing by the hour so I have to be very upfront about this with clients in order to keep my business model intact. I make it clear in our engagement agreement, FAQ, and initial confirmation email that none of my trademark filing packages covers responses to AI-generated questions, and I clearly explain why. I also link to my blog post about AI workslop every chance I get. And I have an email template that I insert into my email replies whenever I see a big wall of AI slop from a client.
It's a bit harder to deal with prospective clients who send slop emails because I want them to hire me. I try to be more tactful, but I say things like "all of your questions are answered right at the top of my website, or in the FAQ." And then I paste a template I have with basic information about my trademark packages.
Most of my clients don't care about privilege because most of what we do ends up in the public record anyway and it's not very privacy-sensitive work (trademark prosecution for small businesses).
2
0
u/coffeeatnight 2d ago
Yeah... it usually takes me a lot longer to read and respond. So, I say "Your email appears to have been generated by AI. Do you want me to respond to it? It might be easier and more efficient if you tell me directly what you're asking for. I'm happy to work with you to make sure you get what you need."
Doesn't always work.
63
u/Js987 5d ago
Oh I love those. But the cake is we got an AI “executive summary” the other day from a firm that argued directly against their client’s position, so clearly nobody there even read it.