Chicago-based law firm sues AI robot lawyer for practicing without a license
DoNotPay, an app founded in 2015 as an app to help customers fight parking tickets, has expanded its services ever since.
In a lawsuit filed by Chicago-based law firm Edelson on March 3, the firm accused DoNotPay, which describes itself as “the world’s first robot lawyer,” of practising law without a licence.
According to the 12-page filing on the San Francisco County Superior Court, the complaint said:
“Unfortunately for its customers, DoNotPay is not a robot, a lawyer, or a law firm. DoNotPay does not have a law degree, is not barred in any jurisdiction, and is not supervised by any lawyer.”
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Jonathan Faridian, who seeks damages for alleged violations of California’s unfair competition law, alleging that he would not have subscribed if he knew that the “World’s First Robot Lawyer,” as the company calls itself, was not a lawyer.
Jonathan added he was under the impression that the legal documents were sourced from a “lawyer that was competent to provide them” but only received “substandard” results.
DoNotPay, an app founded in 2015 as an app to help customers fight parking tickets, has expanded its services ever since. Users can now use artificial intelligence to assist customers in many legal services without hiring a lawyer.
Joshua Browder, a Stanford University undergraduate and the founder of DoNotPay shot back in a Twitter thread. The lawsuit lacks merit and DoNotPay is “not going to be bullied by America’s richest class action lawyer” in a reference to Edelson founder Jay Edelson, added Browder.
