Do Robots Have Empathy? Do Lawyers?

Amid an uproar over whether, or to what degree, automated systems may replace lawyers, Aric Press at Bernero & Press argues that, “No matter what inroads technology may take into law practice, the core qualities of good lawyers will remain vital and necessary to clients.” Those qualities, Press argues, boil down to basic empathy. Unfortunately, “the diagnosis about the weak emotional intelligence of lawyers is painfully familiar. … [L]awyers looking for a competitive advantage over their laptops will have some work to do.” Press suggests the younger generation of lawyers should follow in medicine’s footsteps, and receive coaching in empathy skills. “It would be a small but valuable step to teach them how to listen and relate to their clients.”