Let’s say that ChatGPT isn’t very good when it comes to the law. Hallucinations are an expected hazard of its use. The lawyer knows the law, but that’s not enough. A lawyer has to know how to close a real estate transaction, zoning, emergency room medicine, mechanical engineering, fire prevention, supply chain, distribution rules for the promotion of medical devices, IVF, electrical construction load best practices, what a lineman calls a “pot,” CRISPR, decennial liability and how to read a financial statement. And over the course of a career, maybe a hundred other things. Like, that you can break a car window with a spark plug. That a 9mm shell won’t fit in a .380. That 12 points of fingerprint comparison are no longer needed–eight is enough. What a triple-neck round bottom flask is used for. Whether precursors can be used to make levo- or dextro- versions of a molecule. All the substances that share the molecular weight of C17H21NO4. That a vessel in extremis may violate transit rules to avoid an accident. None of which is taught in law school. And let’s not forget a private detective’s tradecraft, computer science and having the people skills to learn the backstory. And there’s always a backstory..ChatGPT provides the lawyer with an orientation to what was never studied. Except, of course, for the backstory.