Ride the Lightning

Robots Are Taking Divorce Lawyers’ Jobs Too

July 5, 2016

The headline isn't mine – it was from Bloomberg (I think 'robots' sell). The article is really talking about online dispute resolution tools powered by artificial intelligence. Most people are familiar with this kind of tool primarily because of eBay. Its site has an automated dispute-resolution tool which settles 60 million claims every year. Now, some countries are deploying similar technology to let people negotiate divorces, landlord-tenant disputes, and other legal conflicts.

Couples in the Netherlands can use an online platform to negotiate divorce, custody, and child-support agreements. Similar tools are being introduced in England and Canada. British Columbia is setting up an online Civil Resolution Tribunal this summer to handle condominium disputes; it will eventually process almost all small-claims cases in the province.

The tools use algorithms to guide users through a series of questions and explanations to help them reach a settlement by themselves. Like eBay, the services can bring in human adjudicators if all else fails. Clearly, this improves access to justice for those who can't afford lawyers, but some people will no doubt turn to these tools in place of lawyers.

The Dutch government's Legal Aid Board has operated a platform called Rechtwijzer (Roadmap to Justice) since 2007 for couples who are separating or divorcing. It handles about 700 divorces yearly and is expanding to cover landlord-tenant and employment disputes.

Couples pay €100 ($111) for access to Rechtwijzer, which starts by asking each partner for their age, income, education, and other information, then guides them through questions about their preferences. Couples with children, for example, are asked whether they want the children to live with only one parent or part time with each.

The platform uses algorithms to find points of agreement, then proposes solutions. There's a tool to calculate child support and software for drafting agreements. Couples can request a professional mediator for an additional €360 or, if talks break down, a binding decision by an adjudicator. That happens in about 5 percent of cases.

The U.S. is behind Europe and Canada in developing self-help tools for disputes, though some state and local jurisdictions use online platforms for property-tax appeals and no-fault insurance claims. Entrepreneurs have started web-based dispute-resolution sites with names such as ClaimSettle and EQuibbly, but most have shut down after failing to attract business, said Bob Ambrogi, one of my favorite legal tech writers. According to Bob, some startups were hurt by a lack of public awareness, while others suffered from clunky user interfaces. Still others had planned to recruit lawyers and retired judges to negotiate settlements but didn't find them very interested in the proposition.

Dave Ries, thanks for passing this one along.

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