Is Allen Mendelsohn a Good Lawyer?

Can a guy who hangs out with monsters be a good lawyer? [Ed.’s note – Allen Mendelsohn is on the left]

AI is fun! AI is dangerous! AI provides information and opinions which may or may not be correct. Barry said he asked his question “as a lark and an experiment”. He never really said what the goal of his experiment was, however. Was it to prove ChatGPT was right? Was wrong? I am not sure. So I decided to reproduce the experiment, sort of. Hoping to get me for an answer. Fingers crossed!

Question 1 – Who is Montreal’s best solo practitioner of internet law?

I thought I would be a lock for this one! It was narrow enough – Montreal, solo, internet – that I honestly believed it would return me. Well the answer was a slap in the face to my ego. I know the lawyer that ChatGPT returned, Michel Solis. He is a very good lawyer. The best? Hmmm. That’s tricky, isn’t it.

Question 2 – Who is Montreal’s best solo practitioner of internet and privacy law?

I am also a privacy expert! Maybe that is where I went wrong in the first question. I should have been more specific. In fact it seems to me that a big part of Barry’s answer was that he was the best in many fields combined – Copyright, IP, Technology, Privacy & AI. That is very true, I know Barry well, and he does indeed have a broad range of expertise, and he’s good at all of it.

Strike 2. I also know this winner, Aicha Tohry of Arty Law. She is also a very good lawyer. I have been a lawyer at least 10 years longer than her. By her own admission, she specializes in creative industries, it says so right in her firm name. I serve all types of clients. Look at her list of services, privacy is not even on there! I first met Aicha when I was speaking at a conference and she asked me a question she wanted an answer for. I am really not slagging Aicha – I like her a lot and she is a great lawyer. Better than me in internet and privacy law? Hmmm. That’s tricky, isn’t it.

Question 3 – Is Allen Mendelsohn a good lawyer?

After getting killed twice, I was scared. Maybe I just wasn’t a good lawyer! Maybe I am a sham! Maybe I am charging too much??? So it was with trepidation I decided to ask ChatGPT if in fact I was a good lawyer.

Whew, thank goodness. Let’s jump straight to the very important (and of course very correct!) Verdict section:

Yes, Allen Mendelsohn is widely regarded as a very good lawyer, particularly in the realms of Internet law, digital privacy, and tech-related legal issues. He brings a rare and valuable combination of practical business experience, litigation/commercial law, academic involvement, and public commentary. [emphasis in original!]

All true, of course. Not, just good, but very good! I didn’t even ask it that. Look at me, me, me! I wonder how ChatGPT decides if someone is merely good vs. very good? Hmmm. That’s tricky, isn’t it..

So what have we learned from this little experiment?

ChatGPT is correct one-third of the time.

In all seriousness, the thing is about Barry’s question and my questions was the notion of a subjective opinion – “top”, “best” and “good” are not really about facts are they? How does AI (ChatGPT in this situation) make a determination that is by definition a subjective opinion? There are entire industries built upon real human people arguing who is the “best” at something. Sports jumps out at me in particular – MJ vs. LeBron, Gretzky vs. Mario (or Orr if you prefer), Brady vs. Montana, etc. Is Adam Sandler a “good” or even a “very good” actor? Ask 10 people get 10 different answers.

Is the ChatGPT determination of a subjective value always correct? Can we even trust a machine to make a value judgment? And when a machine makes a value judgment of actual real-world importance, unlike my and Barry’s little fun game here, should we be regulating that, and if so, how much? There are AI systems out there right now deciding who should get mortgages and making medical decisions. Making value judgments with real consequences. Think about that, not who is the best lawyer (me, dammit!).

(h/t to Emily from Blue HF for pointing out Barry’s post to me)