ABSTRACT
Lawyers are often described as ‘learned persons’ because it is assumed they know all the laws, a bit about almost everything and highly intelligent individuals. This no doubt is made possible by the legal and analytical reasoning skills they learnt in the course of their training. Since only human beings were traditionally considered to be ‘intelligent,’ legal practitioners have no doubt carved a niche for themselves in that sphere for many years. With the advent of Information Technology (IT) however, things are changing and the conservative legal profession is not spared. Over the years IT has proven to be the perfect quintessential asset within the reach of legal practitioners irrespective of their area of expertise or practice. With the aid of technology, work load or work content is reduced, time frame in research is abridged, there is the likelihood of accuracy in processed data and errors are minimized. One aspect of technology which perhaps is the greatest tool of all times is artificial (machine) intelligence (AI). The paper examines the impact of artificial intelligence in the legal profession. The study reveals that through the years legal professionals have been used to the conservative ways of oratory, advocacy, teaching, legal research and other aspects of their legal work but there is a universal shift towards adapting AI into areas of legal practice. The new realities of an AI driven legal profession; its prospects and challenges are examined in the study. Will AI displace lawyers in their field? Will it cause unemployment? Will it bring about efficiency in legal practice? Are there legal issues surrounding the deployment of AI in the Nigerian legal terrain? These and other questions were resolved in the paper where it was also concluded that AI has the possibility of revolutionizing the legal profession where it is keyed into.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Law, Lawyers, Technology