Abstract
In his article, ‘Large language models and community legal centres: Could chatbots help reduce Australia’s justice gap?’, Will Cesta considers the potential benefits of chatbots based on Large Language Models for the provision of legal information, as well as possible risks.
Part One
Purpose: To experience the functionality of current Australian large language model (LLM) legal chatbots.
Instructions:
1. Divide into groups and assign one of the following Australian legal chatbots to each group. • University of Newcastle’s Know the Law chatbot • Doogue + George’s Criminal Law AI chatbot • Sydney Criminal Lawyers’ AI Assistant chatbot • Lex – Australian Employment Law Support AI chatbot • Marrickville Legal Centre’s New Age Legal Assistant chatbot • National Legal Aid’s amica.gov.au chatbot (use ‘amica one’ to test without an account). 2. Spend some time testing the functionality of the chatbot. Try asking for very general information, or very specific information. Ask follow-up questions to clarify its responses. Think about different scenarios and what the parties might want to know. Ask questions in formal and informal language, or with spelling errors or using legal terminology incorrectly. Use your research skills to check whether the answers are accurate. 3. Report back to the class about your experience. Do you think the chatbot would be helpful to the community? Why or why not?
Part Two
Purpose: To conduct background research to strengthen understanding of a legal issue.
Background: Cesta’s article canvasses a broad range of issues relating to LLMs and chatbots, and briefly refers to many examples. It can be difficult to evaluate his claims without the necessary background knowledge.
Instructions:
1. As a class, skim through the article to identify examples that are referred to, but not fully explained. For instance, the FLIP report, Ailira, the US lawyer who cited non-existent cases, JusticeConnect, etc. 2. Break into small groups and divide up the examples. Conduct some research (begin with the references provided by Cesta, and supplement this with further internet research if necessary) and prepare a brief summary to share back to the class. 3. Read the article again with your broader background knowledge.
Part Three
Purpose: To establish and defend a reasoned opinion on a complex legal issue.
Instructions: Consider the various arguments covered by Cesta and think about your own opinion of LLM legal chatbots. Write an 800-word opinion column for a newspaper about the issue. Do you think LLM chatbots offer an exciting opportunity to improve access to justice? Are they a dangerous threat to the legal rights of vulnerable people? Or something in between?