Law360 featured Akerman Partner Janis Cheezem in its article exploring how real estate attorneys are adopting and leveraging technology in their practices. Janis offered insights on both the transformative impact and the limitations of AI.
Janis referenced the work of a colleague who used AI to create overlays of multiple maps found in the public records to analyze whether a site could be divided up for multiple developments, estimating that the technology accomplished in an hour what would otherwise have taken a week. Janis also observed, "While there are many companies that provide commercial lease abstracts, AI allows lawyers to quickly find answers to detailed questions beyond what the abstracts typically offer."
Emphasizing the importance of human oversight when using AI, Janis recounted an instance where a client received incorrect information after directly querying an AI system about the development potential of a site, noting, “AI gave an answer. The wrong answer,” she cautioned, underscoring the continued necessity of applying attorney oversight to technological work product.
Commenting on evolving client expectations, Janis added, “I do think that our clients expect that we’re going to produce the best-quality work for them as efficiently as we can,” while also noting that clients still expect their lawyers to verify and thoughtfully assess AI results.