DoNotPay (chatbot)

DoNotPay is a service developed at Stanford University service provides legal advice to users. The chatbot gained popularity after it helped challenge a large number of fines for improper parking in the US and UK. By September 2017, DoNotPay covers about 1,000 legal issues.

The service helps with the threat of eviction, receiving compensation for delayed flights and trains, with maternity leave, and also allows you to challenge the purchase made by fraudsters on the plaintiff's credit card , and even file a lawsuit against companies that annoy with advertising calls.

2023: First U.S. court use of robot lawyer

In early January 2023, specialists from the DoNotPay startup said that their robot lawyer began to help the defendant challenge the fine for violating traffic rules. He will listen to the court's arguments, analyze them and, based on the information received, give tips to the defendant.

The world's first robotic lawyer will work on the defendant's smartphone and listen to comments to give his client instructions on what to say in the dispute. The location of the trial, the charges and the name of the defendant were not disclosed, New Scientist reported.

Startup DoNotPay has created a robotic lawyer who helps the defendant challenge the fine

Joshua Browder originally created a robot to appeal parking fines in the UK when he first launched the technology, but then extended it to the US. However, the technology was developed in a chat format, with the bot asking questions to find out details of your case, such as "Were you or someone you know driving?" or "Was it difficult to understand parking signs?." After analyzing the responses of users, the robot will decide whether the defendant has the right to appeal, if so, it will generate an appeal letter that can be attributed to the court.

A similar format will be used in February 2023, but the robot will "listen" to conversations between the prosecutor and the defendant to tell its client what to say next. Company chief Joshua Browder said artificial intelligence was trained on factual statements to "minimize legal liability." Browder also set up the audio tool to not respond to utterances instantly, instead letting the abuser end the discussion, analyze the comments and then present a decision.

The DoNotPay website shows that its technology can be used not only as a robot: fight corporations, defeat bureaucracy, find hidden money and sue anyone. The robot studied laws on cancellation and delay of flights and insurance of payment protection.

DoNotPay also offers consumer and workplace advice to people in the US and UK, including harassment at work or misleading claims in advertising. In more serious cases, the robot will connect users with external assistance, such as free legal representation.^[1]

2017: Filing a lawsuit against Equifax

After a loud leak of personal data that the credit bureau kept Equifax (you can find out more about what happened here), class action lawsuits began to be prepared against the company. You can go to court without the help of a lawyer.

Chatbot DoNotPay began helping affected Equifax customers file lawsuits alleging negligence and claiming compensation from $2,500 to $25,000  , depending on state laws. Victims can join a class action lawsuit, but without the help of this Internet service.

DoNotPay lawyer helps Equifax sue $25,000 for data breach of 143 million users

DoNotPay developer Joshua Browder said that he himself suffered from the Equifax hack, since the programmer's data was stored in this credit history system.

I hope my product will replace lawyers and, with luck, bankrupt Equifax, "Broder said.

According to lawyer Scott Nelson of Public Citizen, DoNotPay is not a panacea, since the service only allows you to fill out documents and does not represent the plaintiff in court.

Texas lawyer Peter Vogel says Equifax will challenge lawsuits and minor complaints, so the chatbot's actions are unlikely to harm the company.

This does not mean that Equifax will prevail, but given the coverage of 143 million people, it can be assumed that the company will want to complicate the process for consumers as much as possible, - said Vogel.[2]

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