07/22/2026
I think we're asking AI the wrong questions.
More accurately, I think we're asking AI questions we should be asking our lawyers.
Over the past year, I've noticed a troubling pattern.
Clients don't come to me with a legal problem anymore.
They come with ChatGPT's answer.
"I had AI draft this contract."
"AI told me this was trademark infringement."
"Can you review this demand letter ChatGPT wrote?"
Here's what worries me:
The biggest danger isn't that AI gets the law wrong.
It's that by the time you walk into a lawyer's office, the chatbot has already shaped the way you're thinking about the problem.
The assumptions have been made.
The strategy has been chosen.
The document has been drafted.
And everyone—including the lawyer—is now reacting to a conclusion that may have been based on the wrong premise from the very beginning.
In more than thirty years of practice, I've found that my greatest value rarely comes from drafting documents.
It comes from helping clients realize they're solving the wrong problem.
That's not something a prompt can do.
It's the product of judgment, perspective, strategic thinking, and hard-earned experience.
I wrote a longer essay about why I believe relying on AI for legal advice may be one of the most expensive mistakes a business owner can make.
The last line says it best:
The value isn't in the document. The value is in the thinking that produces the document.
The link to the full article is in the comments
I'm genuinely interested in hearing other perspectives.
Has AI changed the way your clients—or you—approach professional advice?
