More True Confessions of a Legal Writing Professor: Chat GPT Makes a Better Therapist Than a Lawyer

Abstract

This, at times, irreverent, tongue-in-cheek article is about how Chat GPT (and generative AI in general) makes a better therapist than a lawyer. First, it references examples where generative AI has hallucinated cases, refers to the real-life example where an attorney was sanctioned for submitting fake cases, and refers to the court orders that followed where courts have limited the use of generative AI. Second, it discusses an example of how Google Bard missed a key issue when writing a case brief for first-semester law students and made improvements to an excellent office memo that a student prepared in a way that did not conform to best practices in legal writing. However, examples are also provided where AI is helpful in terms of organizing thoughts or providing general information on a legal subject. Finally, it references areas where generative AI does excel—creating dating profiles and giving advice on maintaining friendships.