All kinds of work can be draining for anyone, especially those that are time-critical and high-stakes. Lawyers are some of those who are part of this kind of workplace environment. Almost every single day, they have to deal with aggrieved clients and their families, while ensuring that legal matters are processed immediately. One missed deadline, one missed call, it can cost someone’s life, liberty, or property. A mistake in a criminal case can convict an innocent person. A mistake in a personal injury case can prevent a claimant from recovering damages.
Aside from that, lawyers are required to be able to listen to their clients’ woes empathetically. They must be able to absorb portions of their client’s fear, disappointment, and anger to be able to advocate for them better in court. However, this can be emotionally draining for the lawyers. This is why they utilize AI tools, like chatbots, to help them. These AI chatbots would be the “first responder” for clients who want legal assistance from law firms. While it is efficient in processing and giving information, there is one question: Does AI possess the emotional intelligence to handle these aggrieved clients?
Lawyer’s Emotional Intelligence
78% of clients consider a lawyer’s emotional intelligence as equally important as their legal skills and expertise. To maintain the client’s trust, lawyers must establish an emotional connection with them. The real differentiator between one lawyer and another is how they apply their legal knowledge and interpersonal skills. A smart lawyer doesn’t immediately equate to a good lawyer. But a smart lawyer who also understands the emotional nuances of the facts of the case is a good one.
Limitations of Lawyers: Compassion Fatigue
However, having to go through this daily could also have an adverse effect on lawyers. As humans, lawyers could also feel overwhelmed by the wave of complicated–and sometimes disturbing–situations their clients share with them. Continuous exposure to sensitive or emotionally heavy stories and having to empathetically listen to the clients may result in compassion fatigue.
Lawyers with compassion fatigue feel overwhelmed and drained. Unlike burnout, compassion fatigue has additional symptoms. Compassion fatigue makes lawyers experience seeing disturbing images from the cases they handle in their dreams. Lawyers also become increasingly vigilant about safety and have a pessimistic view of the world.
AI Tools: A Problem-Solution Mismatch
To mitigate the situation, lawyers engage in AI tools like chatbots. They would use AI tools to process documents and exhibits for their cases. For law firms, AI is a tool that saves them time and enhances efficiency in document management and review. The menial tasks of responding to hundreds of emails, answering calls, and processing exhibits each day can be lessened through AI. Although hiring additional legal assistants is an option, some law firms opt out to avoid higher costs.
However, AI cannot fully understand what the clients are going through. AI can only process data and generate information out of documents or data given to it to process. AI is incapable of understanding complex human dynamics, shifts in tone, social cues, and body language. This results in a disconnect in the communication process between lawyers and their clients. It was found in a survey that communication in law firms is the most vulnerable to technological disruption brought by AI. If communication suffers, the information the AI gives for decision-making also suffers. Instead of solving the problems lawyers face, these AI tools end up adding more to their plate.
What AI Cannot Replace
Although AI can give you efficiency and speed, it cannot replace judgment, empathy, and the ability to build connections like humans do. The struggles that come with lawyering are real; however, help should not come with a compromise.
Instead of AI, legal process outsourcing companies can provide a team of virtual professionals without the high cost of hiring locally. These professionals, who are supervised and trained by lawyers, are capable of building relationships with clients and establishing trust. They can also do the menial daily tasks, significantly reducing the mental load for lawyers.
Adapting to technological advancement does not have to come with a cost, and the future of legal practice does not mean losing its core–human ethical judgment and empathy.