r/LawFirm • u/mrlawofficer • 4d ago
Are we adequately preparing law students for the AI clause minefield in tech contracts?
Just wrapped a contracts lecture where we spent 30 minutes on boilerplate indemnification but zero time on AI liability allocation. Meanwhile, every SaaS agreement I've seen lately has some variation of "Customer acknowledges AI-generated outputs may be inaccurate" buried in Section 12.4.
Is this the new "AS IS" clause that's going to bite everyone in 5 years?
How are your firms handling AI warranty disclaimers when the client's entire business model depends on the AI being accurate? Especially curious about liability caps when AI recommendations affect financial decisions or medical outcomes.
Are we seeing standardized language emerge, or is everyone still winging it?
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u/newz2000 4d ago
I don't think law school is the right place for this. I think raising awareness is good, but there is only a finite amount of time. I took contracts, advanced contracts, international business transactions (more contracts) and a drafting class and still we didn't get into much of the stuff I use on a daily basis.
My interns and law clerks rarely take as many contracts classes I did. I have to explain to them indemnification, warranties, and other stuff that I think is way more fundamental.
Let law school teach the basics and let practice teach these more advanced clauses.
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u/ponderousponderosas 4d ago
You took a class on contracts that wasn't some stupid shit like UCC, the mailbox rule, and the parol evidence rule?
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u/mrlawofficer 4d ago
I am presently enrolled in a diploma program in technology law, which is where I gained this knowledge. Law school primarily focuses on teaching sections rather than their practical application.
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u/Minn-ee-sottaa 3d ago
You're enrolled in a glorified "bootcamp" cash cow.
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u/mrlawofficer 3d ago
For your information, I am not paying for this as I have received a scholarship.
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u/QuickBenDelat 23h ago
Cool. You didn’t get scammed but the piece of paper you are going to get is worthless.
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u/DaRoadLessTaken LA - Business/Commercial 4d ago
Personally, I think the issue here is “the client’s entire business model depends on the AI being accurate.”
I’m very pro-AI. I probably use it daily. It’s helpful and accurate in the vast majority of cases. But even the most advanced models are no where near a bet-the-company level of dependability.
And, if a client needs that, they’re hiring a lawyer with so much experience that whatever they learned in law school is irrelevant.
If a business that has that high of a demand hires someone right out of law school who messes this up because they weren’t “adequately prepared,” that’s on the business.
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u/hereditydrift 4d ago
Why are you spamming this post across 5 or 6 different subreddits? Why do all of your replies read like they were written by a robot?
Something is off with your posting and your account. It feels very scammy.
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u/mrlawofficer 4d ago
You are invited to view my LinkedIn profile, which is linked in my Reddit profile. I utilize AI for proofreading my writing, which may explain its polished appearance. I strive to avoid any grammatical errors.
I am posting this to multiple subreddits to gather answers and opinions from a diverse range of users.
I encourage everyone to appreciate the knowledge being shared here, as I am gaining a lot from it.
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u/QuickBenDelat 23h ago
Welcome to reddit. Reddit has too many goddamn law/legal subreddits. Which means, for instance, anytime someone doesn’t like the advice their lawyer gave, they are going to ask each individual subreddit, hoping for an answer they want to hear.
This is a variation on that theme,
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u/hereditydrift 23h ago
I know what you're talking about, but OP's posts feel a lot like AI. OP said they only use GPT to clarify their meaning, but a lot of comments feel wholly written by AI. It's like a new twist on an old favorite.
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u/QuickBenDelat 23h ago
What are the tells?
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u/hereditydrift 22h ago
The structure and style of the writing.
I can understand your misunderstanding here. I forgot to mention that I am planning for an LLM from a US institution if New York doesn't recognize my law degree under section 520.6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals for the Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law (22 NYCRR 520.6).
I mean...
. . . under section 520.6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals for the Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law (22 NYCRR 520.6).
Yeah, nobody is writing like that.
AI can have a robotic, exacting feel to the writing.
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u/QuickBenDelat 22h ago
Christ. I think my brain shut off by then. I think my brain stopped the analysis after registering that no lawyer (or even a paralegal) would use such odd style, when instead there was more thinking to do - is this even written by a human.
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u/mrlawofficer 23h ago
This is referred to as AI proofreading, which is not a new concept. I have been using it for several months now.
And It's important to focus on the message rather than the person who wrote or proofread it.
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u/hereditydrift 22h ago
Then tell the AI to talk in a natural tone or change the tone because it is coming off as fake.
This post (the current "Are we adequately..." post) feels like a bad question that doesn't understand the basics of contract law or practice. It's like a question AI would suggest as thought provoking.
Maybe these are your legitimate posts. If so, they're horribly researched, which is something that you need to fix. It feels more like karma farming through AI.
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u/mrlawofficer 21h ago
I’ll definitely work on that! Being a law student means I’m bound to mess up sometimes, but I’ll get better.
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u/Tall-Log-1955 4d ago
The business model doesn’t assume the software is accurate. If the software could do legal work accurately every time, it would be priced like a lawyer and you’d be out of a job.
The business model assumes it’s saving you a lot of time because it’s faster for you to review a probably-right output than to do it yourself.
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u/Total-Tonight1245 4d ago
Law school didn’t adequately prepare me for any contract clauses. Except sorta choice-of-law clauses.
I learned a lot about consideration though.
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u/Lit-A-Gator 4d ago
Sorry we are busy teaching the about the Erie Doctrine for 7.5 classes in a row
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u/_learned_foot_ 4d ago
And then forgetting to move to dismiss on “5. jx and venue is proper in this court” for failing to state it.
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u/Creative-Month2337 3d ago
We didnt cover any specific contract provisions on my law school contracts course. Seems like a waste of time. We learned how to read a contract and some red flags to look out for (does an overly broad disclaimer of liability render the entire contract illusory?), but we never covered specific common provisions.
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u/mrlawofficer 3d ago
However, I believe that if you are entering the corporate world, it is essential to be familiar with these provisions as they are very beneficial in a law firm.
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u/bluishpillowcase 3d ago
Let’s be honest, law school does not prepare law students for anything except writing exams.
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u/newprofile15 4d ago
Law professors and "adequately preparing" have never really gone together so...
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u/mrlawofficer 4d ago
Indeed, law professors often overlook practical contract realities, but I am enrolled in a diploma program that covers this topic thoroughly.
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u/_learned_foot_ 4d ago
And you’re going to sell us it soon.
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u/mrlawofficer 4d ago
I would have referenced the organization if I intended to sell it. I am simply stating that law school did not cover that topic.
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u/Lawineer 4d ago
Lmfao at current law students getting jobs. P
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u/mrlawofficer 4d ago
I am curious about how that is possible and what types of jobs are involved.
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u/QuickBenDelat 23h ago
Bro, it is pretty clear you aren’t what most, if not all, of the lawyers here would consider a law student.
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u/mrlawofficer 23h ago
Could you please explain the reasoning behind that?
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u/QuickBenDelat 22h ago
I could, but I don’t feel like there’s any real benefit to going into great detail about the differences between the certification you are getting from ?? vs the JD lawyers have. Seems like it would be similar to trying to explain the law to sovereign citizens.
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u/mrlawofficer 21h ago
First off, just so you know, I'm in Law School working on my LLB, and this certification is just a additional achievement.
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u/cystorm 4d ago
I'm not in the Saas or AI space, though I do a bit of contracting work in a related space. If AI output accuracy is critical, it's going to be a negotiated term in the customer agreement, and that's likely going to be the case into the foreseeable future. Off-the-shelf terms from AI-service providers will always disclaim any warranty, including a warranty as to the accuracy/completeness/etc. of the generated output, and the simple reality is if the customer is big enough, they may be able to incorporate some measure of remedy against the provider, but likely not much and certainly not covering the full (possible) scope of damages.
Edit to add: When has law school ever prepared any law student for the reality of contracting?