[Law Firm Zip Exploration] ‘Legal AI’ stopped in front of the Bar Association… “Find a consensus”

Controversy over Daeryun Aju and Daeryun AI services
Violation of the Bar Act vs. contraction of the legal tech industry
Replacement of the executive branch of the Bar Association... Pay attention to the possibility of change

Amid the growing craze for AI legal services, such as chatbots and relay platforms that combine artificial intelligence (AI) technology and legal services, debates are continuing. This is because the Korean Bar Association (Bar Association) is taking strong action against AI legal services launched by some law firms on the grounds that they violate the prohibition on advertising under the Attorney General's Act. In the law firm industry, there is a suggestion that the Korean Bar Association is setting up 'cheokhwabi' and taking a hard line, and that they should find an agreement with each other.

According to the law firm industry on the 19th, the Korean Bar Association is said to be considering disciplinary action against Daeryun Law Firm's AI-based legal service 'AI Daeryun'. AI Daeryun is a service that supports lawyers in writing various legal documents and provides legal interpretation and various precedents to user questions. Daeryun explains that he launched this service because he believed that the use of AI in the legal market is an irreversible trend of the times.

The Bar Association's position is that it will examine whether 'AI Dae-Ryun' is a violation of the Bar Act regulations. It is said to be contrary to Article 5 of the Rules on Lawyer Advertisements (lawyers, etc. cannot make advertisements with methods or content that allow consumers to directly use programs such as artificial intelligence or connect consumers to artificial intelligence programs) enacted in October of last year. Daeryun filed a constitutional petition on the 17th of last month, claiming that these regulations infringe on freedom of press, publication, professional practice, and business.

The Korean Bar Association also imposed fines and reprimands on a total of six representative lawyers and affiliated lawyers for 'AI Daeryuk Aju' launched by Daeryuk Aju Law Firm in November last year for violating the Bar Act. The Bar Association determined that there were problems with the AI ​​chatbot replacing lawyer work and the Naver advertisement placed at the bottom of the AI ​​response. Daeryuk Aju also objected to the Bar Association's disciplinary action and submitted an appeal to the Ministry of Justice on the 7th of last month.

The law firm industry points out that there is a concern that the bar association's continued use of sanctions could lead to a contraction of the entire legal market. A lawyer who used to be a judge said, "Unconditionally banning AI-based legal platforms could actually result in hindering the development of the domestic legal tech industry. If we regulate domestic AI legal services, there is a high possibility that foreign AI services will eventually take over the domestic market. Therefore, we must move in a direction that can be utilized rather than simply regulating it."

However, concerns continued that the legal market could be buried in ‘AI omnipotence’. This means that following AI's incorrect judgment in sensitive disputes such as lawsuits can result in irreversible damage. Kim Jae-sik, a lawyer at Apex Law Firm, emphasized, "I am in favor of using AI as a second opinion, but I am opposed to using AI entirely without human judgment." He added, "Allowing commercial use of reliance on AI should be avoided."

Meanwhile, as the new Chairman Kim Jeong-wook of the Korean Bar Association, who is scheduled to take office on the 24th, pledged to 'form a consultative body to respond to platforms and AI', interest is growing as to whether there will be a change in the atmosphere regarding the use of legal platforms and AI. An official at the Korean Bar Association said, “I think the next executive branch will follow the same lines as the current one (with respect to AI),” but added, “If the executive branch changes, won’t there be discussions about whether to maintain it in some way or find an agreement or compromise?”
 

Reporter Kim Hyeong-jun (dhkd7979@naver.com)

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[Exploring law firm zip] ‘Legal AI’ stopped in front of the Bar Association… “Find a consensus” (Shortcut)