DoNotPay, the "world's first robot lawyer" in actual court, has been accused of illegally practicing law.
'No Law Degree'
In a report by Insider, a class action complaint against the artificial intelligence (AI) robot lawyer was filed on Mar. 3 by Edelson, a legal firm in Chicago. It was made public on the Superior Court of the State of California webpage for the County of San Francisco on Thursday, Mar. 9.
This lawsuit contends, "Unfortunately for its customers, DoNotPay is not actually a robot, a lawyer, nor a law firm. DoNotPay does not have a law degree, is not barred in any jurisdiction, and is not supervised by any lawyer."
In the case, Jonathan Faridian says that he utilized DoNotPay to create several legal papers, including a demand letter, a petition in small claims court, and a discrimination complaint against his employer.
The lawsuit states that Faridian paid for legal papers "from a lawyer that was competent to provide them" but instead received "substandard" work.
AI's Legal Services
DoNotPay asserts that its AI can assist its clients in dealing with a wide variety of legal services without the need for human legal counsel. While it began as a mobile app to assist drivers in contesting parking fines, the company has now diversified its offerings.
The website for DoNotPay boasts of being able to aid users in their battles against businesses, bureaucracy, the discovery of hidden funds, and the ability to sue anybody.
"DoNotPay respectfully denies the false allegations," the firm told Insider. It went on to assure that they would defend themselves vigorously.
DoNotPay CEO Joshua Browder tweeted that the charges were without merit and that his company would defend the case. He said DoNotPay is not going to be intimidated by America's wealthiest class action lawyer, a reference to Edelson's founder Jay Edelson.
According to Browder, it was attorneys like Edelson that motivated him to start DoNotPay in 2015. "Time and time again the only people that win are the lawyers. So I wanted to do something about it, building the DoNotPay robot lawyer to empower consumers to take on corporations on their own."
Jay Edelson revealed to Insider that when we filed suit, they knew Browder and DoNotPay would do anything they could to deflect attention away from their alleged wrongdoing. "They attacked our client and now are attacking me," he added.
Canceled Appearance
Earlier this year, DoNotPay made headlines when Browder said it would utilize a chatbot powered by AI to advise a defendant appearing in traffic court. This plan was put on hold when Browder said he had received threats from State Bar prosecutors. He stated that they may face up to six months in jail if they attempt to introduce a robot lawyer.
