Imagine instead of consulting a lawyer about filing for divorce, going to a website that details the process, provides the forms and files them with a court once you complete them. Or if you need to revise your estate plan or will, you answer prompts from an artificial intelligence-guided chatbot to determine what steps you need to take.

Such a future may not be that far off in Washington state. The recent decision of the Washington State Supreme Court authorizing a 10-year pilot program that would permit new methods and models of providing legal services in the state could usher in an era where people may not ever need to interact with an attorney in their legal affairs.

“I think inside a courtroom you’re always going to have attorneys,” said Asa LaMusga, an attorney with Gravis Law and president of the Benton-Franklin Bar Association. “But the jury’s out on everything else.”

Attorney shortage

However, others see the effort as another attempt by state-level legal and justice system leaders to fix issues without addressing the primary problem: there aren’t enough attorneys in Washington state, especially outside of the major metropolitan areas, and it’s unclear how technological innovation will be held to the same ethical standards.  

“To me, this has an appearance that it’s about money, about creating a new industry for a corporate entity to make money,” said Matthew Purcell of Purcell Family Law in Kennewick. “It has the feeling of us just taking and replacing people with technology, which to me should always be a cautionary approach.”

The state has struggled with a chronic shortage of lawyers for years. That shortage is increasingly visible at the criminal court level, as public defense offices struggle to keep caseloads manageable and county governments face rising costs to ensure the indigent have representation. If caseload limits recommended by the state bar association are implemented by the state Supreme Court, Benton County officials estimate it will cost an additional $6.6 million to comply.

“Currently the state only covers about 4% of the cost of providing public defense services in Benton County and has not indicated a willingness to increase the amount,” Benton County commissioners said in the introduction to the county’s budget.

But the shortage of lawyers also means there are fewer available and affordable for the public to seek help from on everything from contracts to child custody arrangements, experts said.

“The demand is always greater than the resources we have,” said Barb Otte-Potter, executive director of Benton Franklin Legal Aid Society.

Pilot program

Details and requirements for participation in the court’s pilot program have not yet been released. However, information from the court and the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) indicate that the effort could lead to non-lawyers providing legal services and that new tech platforms and tools, such as chatbots, could play a role. The state Supreme Court currently only allows individuals it has licensed to own law firms, share legal fees, and practice law in the state.

“A lot has changed in 100 years, but not when it comes to legal regulation,” said WSBA Executive Director Terra Nevitt in a release. “Now we are at a regulatory crossroads. The technology revolution is here, as well as exciting new business models. This pilot will help us understand whether and how we can harness that innovation – with public protection as our top priority – to meaningfully expand legal services for Washingtonians.”

Improving access

This isn’t the first time the state has sought to improve access to legal representation.

The Limited License Legal Technician, or LLLT, program sought to train those without a law degree to provide advice and assistance to people going through divorce, child custody, and other family law matters in Washington state. The program failed to recruit enough participants and also was found to be unsustainable financially. The state Supreme Court sunset the program and the last LLLT certificates were issued in mid-2023.

The LLLT program has been a massive help to Benton Franklin Legal Aid Society, Otte-Potter said, as an LLLT volunteer it works with has essentially doubled the number of hours the nonprofit assists clients.

“It’s like having our own paid attorney on staff,” she said.

However, LaMusga and Purcell said the LLLT program was not successful, as it did not lead to many license holders offering services in areas where they are needed: rural and isolated communities where attorneys are retiring or dying without anyone picking up their practices.

Self-service model

The state’s new pilot program offers an opportunity to make a real change that benefits everyone, LaMusga said, largely because it doesn’t set out a pre-determined model for how services are provided. And he’s already seen how technology can help people navigate the legal system.

“I’ve seen unrepresented people do well in court just by utilizing ChatGPT,” he said.

It is legal services that are primarily form-driven that are the best candidates for new approaches, LaMusga said. A self-service model, such as using a chatbot, could lead to people not having to interact with a legal professional at all.

There are risks to a new model, though. Current licensing standards are in place to maintain accountability and protect the public from receiving poor representation or bad advice, experts said.

“Very few professions require (their) members to swear an oath,” Purcell said, noting that he can be fined or jailed if he serves as a poor advocate for a client.

Purcell said he appreciates technology and sees ways it can help lawyers and clients more efficiently and effectively seek justice. However, there are plenty of cautionary tales about how tech disruptions of established industries have not benefited consumers, he said, and adapting to current everyday technology is still a challenge in many courtrooms.

“I still advocate that clients be allowed to appear virtually in court so they don’t have the increased cost of an in-person appearance,” Purcell said.

Otte-Potter said there’s not enough information about the parameters of the pilot program to know what it could mean for people seeking legal assistance. She noted that the state is already ahead of the game in increasing access to the law, such as through interactive legal forms for some processes.

Benton Franklin Legal Aid Society also has looked for ways to increase its reach. Beyond working closely with an LLLT, Otte-Potter said a recent partnership with the city of Richland through a grant allowed it to establish a domestic violence program to serve victims. The demand for services was higher than anticipated and a grant renewal will allow it to continue.

“If there’s innovative ways to alleviate the pressure on the court, I’m always open to it,” Otte-Potter said. “We just want to make sure we do it right and everyone has access to justice.”

Purcell said the state Supreme Court and WSBA would be better served dedicating their efforts to holistically improving access to justice. Ensuring courtrooms are accessible, making law school more affordable and incentivizing attorneys setting up practice in under-served areas would do more to ensure people can assert and protect their rights.

“I wonder if they could have used the money for this pilot or other pilots to fund or pay for a large number of lawyers and assigned them to an underserved county and said, ‘You are now the WSBA access to justice attorney for this community,’” Purcell said.