You’ve already heard that artificial intelligence promises to revolutionize the law. A.I.-empowered attorneys can leverage the versatility of cutting-edge large language models to supercharge their practice, efficiently and effectively driving client success with dedicated, industry-leading A.I. solutions.
But did you know A.I. also has the power to revolutionize the unauthorized practice of law?
South Carolina authorities say Nathan Chambers has practiced law of the unauthorized variety, representing clients while using the name of his actual attorney dad. According to the Post & Courier’s report earlier this month, the younger Chambers’s LinkedIn explained that “he knows how to litigate, attended UC Berkeley and has a ‘passion for the law.’” And while all three claims could be technically accurate — though they probably aren’t, Berkeley has no record of him even as an undergrad — the impression they leave of a Berkeley Law School trained litigator is… less accurate.
But there’s a new wrinkle in the case. While we’ve all heard of lawyers misusing A.I. in their practice, Chambers might have used the tool to elevate his unauthorized practice:
In keeping up this charade, Chambers had to file legal documents for the clients he was working with. One of these crossed the desk of Judge Danny Singleton, who said in a contempt hearing this week that he found that the wording of the document suggested Chambers might have used AI to write it.
It’s unclear what “wording” triggered the judge’s A.I. detection sense. As everyone from judges to middle school English teachers scramble to sniff out GenAI composition, a decidedly unscientific gut feel has settled in. Hallucinated cases are one thing, but stilted text and overusing on the word “crucial” don’t necessarily mean a computer wrote the brief.
Chambers declined to address the AI accusation, but he did say he was sorry.
“I never meant to cause the court any trouble,” Chambers said, per the Post. “As I’ve watched my father and sister throughout my entire life practice law and I watched my life go down the drain, I kind of lost my mind a little bit.”
The firm where the elder Chambers worked confirmed that Nathan tried to use the firm Lexis+ AI account but did not succeed.
In all seriousness… credit Chambers for trying to use a professional, legal A.I. tool! Actual attorneys are out there asking ChatGPT to hallucinate case citations, but Chambers knew enough to seek out a product designed to provide reliable output based on a trusted dataset. That’s not an endorsement of the unauthorized practice of law, but a lot of attorneys out there would do well to take his lead on this count.
But not on the “alleged fake lawyering” count. He’s serving 60 days on this contempt and still faces charges for impersonating a lawyer.
Man Accused of Pretending to Be Lawyer Using AI, Representing Real Clients [The Byte]
An AI-powered attorney? SC man accused of posing as lawyer may have used tech for filings. [Post and Courier]
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
