In March, John Hellerman wrote a piece for Law360 in which he made this rather bold claim:

“Consider the idea that in the near future, software could effectively replace lawyers. Despite all the thinking being done about the future of the law, I’ve yet to hear this idea suggested with any vigor. Is it our fear of this scary proposition that makes us avoid it…?

“If so, we will have to get over it. It is a far more realistic possibility, after all, than software replacing our romantic partners [as in the movie Her].”

It’s an out-of-box thought, to be sure. Some may have even found it laughable.

Consider the idea that in the near future, software could effectively replace lawyers.

But if the latest issue of The American Lawyer is any guide, it looks like John was right on target. And the future he describes may, in fact, be just around the corner. The cover story describes how IBM has been upgrading Watson—the machine that did pretty well on Jeopardy—to actually formulate arguments, a skill quite useful in legal practice. After seeing the “Watson Debater” in action, IBM General Counsel Robert Weber came away with this impression:

Weber, a former litigation partner at Jones Day, says Watson won’t replace the judgment of a senior law firm partner, but it could eventually handle tasks of senior associates. He sees it researching and writing a memo summarizing the law and suggesting the most persuasive arguments and precedents. Or it might quickly review stacks of contracts, looking for differences in indemnification clauses. “It would have encyclopedic knowledge and an inexhaustible work ethic,” says Weber.

The whole article is well worth reading for its discussion of the potential for disruption in the legal field. Some law firm leaders insist that the professional is uniquely resistant to change, but if the world keeps heading in the direction that John predicted, they might be in for a surprise.