How to explain the law in numbers: 5 practical tips for advocates

An advocate’s professional communication with a broad audience should be built around people’s real legal needs. It is important for advocates to explain the law clearly, adhere to professional ethics, and review materials prepared using artificial intelligence.

This was discussed during the webinar «Professional communication in the digital age: a practical guide for young lawyers and advocates», organized by the UNBA NextGen in the Kyiv region. The event was moderated by the Committee’s regional representative Oleksandr Khomenko and featured an expert on the implementation of artificial intelligence Anastasia Drachova, as a speaker. They provided practical advice that can be adopted and applied in professional practice:

1. Speak in terms of the person’s legal problem. Communication about the law should start with a typical situation a person is trying to resolve: what to do during a tax audit or search, or how to proceed in the event of a divorce. A. Drachova advised addressing clients’ inquiries and using generalized and depersonalized formulations of typical inquiries as a basis.

2. Explain complex concepts in simple language. Legal content should not be overloaded with technical terms. The speaker recommended breaking down typical situations, legislative changes, and common mistakes in a way that makes the explanation understandable to people without a legal education. In this way, online communication can serve an educational purpose. «You can translate legal jargon into plain language so that people understand you. If a new law is passed that people are interested in, you break it down for them», - noted A. Drachova.

3. Talk about what you actually work on in practice. A topic’s popularity shouldn’t be the only reason to publish about it. According to A. Drachova, an advocate should address high-profile issues only when they work in the relevant field and can help solve a specific problem. «You can help people if you’re dealing with this issue. Don’t take on a topic if you don’t work with it», - she noted.

4. Use AI to formulate your own opinion. Artificial intelligence can be tasked with structuring the material or preparing a draft, but the content must be based on the advocate’s own position. «Neural networks allow us to speed up our work. But the final result and decision are up to us», - the speaker emphasized. Therefore, she recommends first dictating your own reasoning to the system and only then asking it to prepare a document or adapt the text to various formats.

5. Protect your information and verify the results. O. Khomenko cautioned against providing AI with information that constitutes attorney-client privilege, particularly personal data and details that could directly or indirectly identify a client. If necessary, you can simulate such a situation without disclosing sensitive information.

The system’s output must be reviewed, and the final professional decision must be made independently. «If an advocate uses artificial intelligence, it is important to understand that it is not a primary tool, but rather a supplementary one», - he concluded.