Skip to Content
Uncategorized

Replacing Personal Injury Lawyers With the Web

Negotiating a settlement is expensive and difficult – which is why automating the process so that a fee can be agreed on in minutes is so appealing

You’ve been wronged. You know what to do next: You call 1-800-JUSTICE or whatever the number is, so you can get a lawyer on the line to fight for you against those villains at the insurance company.

Except this time around, you’re being offered a settlement via a site called Cybersettle. The company specializes in exactly one thing: facilitating “blind” bids between two parties to a legal dispute. You think your mashed finger is worth $20,000; maybe the city of New York agrees. But the only way to find out is to sit down and hash it out.

Cybersettle eliminates the need for everyone to comb their hair, put on a suit and head downtown. It also eliminates the need for you to hire a lawyer, if you’re comfortable with letting Cybersettle handle your case.

Law, with its enormous volume of interlocking arcana, seems prime territory for automation. Cybersettle says that it has already facilitated the settlement of over a quarter of a million claims for some of the largest insurance companies, corporations and municipalities in the country. It’s a trend that could see even less employment for lawyers used to helping their clients go through the motions on routine matters like settlements.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.

And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.

The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.

Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.

Google DeepMind’s new generative model makes Super Mario–like games from scratch

Genie learns how to control games by watching hours and hours of video. It could help train next-gen robots too.

How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets

When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.