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Can AI Chatbots Argue in the Supreme Court? Legal Sector Debates Potential
AI Argument Experiment: Outperforming Human Lawyers?
Adam Unikowsky, an appellate advocate at Jenner & Block and a Harvard Law School alumnus, conducted an experiment by feeding Supreme Court case briefs he argued to the generative AI chatbot Claude. He then tested how the AI would respond to questions from the justices during oral arguments. Unikowsky noted that the AI's answers were 'amazingly' clear and coherent. He even observed that the AI cited a Supreme Court case ('Reed') he had overlooked, leading him to conclude that the AI provided a better response than he had. The experiment's findings, shared in Unikowsky's newsletter, generated significant discussion within the legal community.
Limitations of AI and Future Prospects in Law
James Grimmelmann, a professor at Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School, points out that while AI can generate convincing arguments, it does not guarantee accuracy. Large Language Models (LLMs) produce outputs based on patterns in their training data, sometimes leading to 'hallucinations' that deviate from facts. There have been instances where lawyers faced court sanctions for submitting briefs with fabricated legal citations generated by AI. Grimmelmann emphasizes that law is a social system requiring an understanding of societal norms and contexts, which AI cannot fully grasp.
The Future of the Legal Profession: AI as a 'Tool' or 'Replacement'?
Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court rules do not permit AI lawyers to advocate. Unikowsky predicts that the Supreme Court will likely be the last to adopt AI technology. However, there is a consensus that generative AI will become an important 'tool' in the legal field. AI can quickly process vast amounts of legal data, offer new perspectives that human lawyers might miss, and help develop novel arguments that benefit clients. As Grimmelmann metaphorically stated, AI is like a powerful 'chainsaw'—useful, but capable of causing significant harm if misused, necessitating careful handling and thorough review by users.
*Source: YouTube: Bloomberg (2026-03-20)*
