Essay · AI & access to justice
Every law firm is now an AI firm
AI won't replace lawyers. Used well — and regulated sensibly — it can finally make legal help affordable enough to reach the people who go to court alone.
92%
of low-income Americans' civil legal problems get no or not enough legal help.Legal Services Corporation, Justice Gap report, 2022
AI can take the first pass
Intake and sorting facts · document review · research · first drafts · explaining options in plain language.
The lawyer keeps the judgment
What matters · how to argue · when to file · what to concede · what to fight.
Three guardrails so the upside reaches everyone
Modernize courtstreat them as essential infrastructure
Reaffirm core dutiescompetence, confidentiality, supervision
Teach it openlylaw schools, responsibly — not off-limits
Framing inspired by Marc Andreessen's "Why Software Is Eating the World" and "The Techno-Optimist Manifesto." © 2026 Gianmarco Coronado Graci.