I'm going to try to put this properly. The legal profession has a high barrier to entry- undergraduate degree (four years). Law school (three years).* And passing an exam to get a bar license in the jurisdiction in order to practice law that shows that ... well, you can take a test that shows you know how generic law in a lot of different areas work.
But despite all of that, I am constantly amazed at the low level of practice I see on the reg. To be honest, other than the hallucinations**, the writing of AI is better than the writing of a number of practicing attorneys that I have had the displeasure of reading.
More importantly, I have seen a general decline in the level of ethical conduct in the past decade in the profession that I think mirrors a larger trend (IMO). But that's a different issue and certainly not appropriate for this forum.
*Okay, it is possible in a very few places to bypass this requirement. But ... for all practical purposes, it's a requirement.
**Other than that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln? Seriously, this is why courts seriously sanction attorneys when they find this. Attorneys can screw up - just like any human - but you absolutely cannot make up authorities. Not just because it's the most important part of being an officer of the court (candor to the tribunal) but because it means that the court cannot trust a single thing you say. Most state courts do not have the time to cite check every single one of your cases, and will usually depend on the advocate's citation of an authority as being accurate.
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