On the Rise of the #Data Scrivener in Law
Everything Old is New Again
You may know that the profession of notary public is older than the profession of attorney.
[What is a profession? It is not only a job. It is a job where the person doing it takes an oath or otherwise swears/promises to the public that they will not do wrong.]
Before we had people looking at and preparing documents we had professionals whose only job it was was to assure the authenticity of a document, these were the tabellions (Rome) prothonotaries and modernly hussiers of justice, registrars, certifiers, and endorsers of various type and title.
Their job was to “stamp” often literally, to “prove” a document or a documented act was true. Oaths (or jurat) were involved.
[Note in China this still persists in the “chop” a stamp required or a company action or personal action or financial transaction are not legal….people have personal chops also.]
One intertwined and related profession is the scrivener. The scrivener is even OLDER than the notary. The scrivener’s job was to write down things for others as most people couldn’t write. The writing of it was the official act.
No oaths were taken by scriveners as they were expected to accurately reduce to writing what was said/done. Therefore accuracy was the verification, without recourse that the person “swore/promised” to do right.
Scriveners were not legally trained, nor legal professionals, they were esteemed for their ACCURACY.
It is not hard to imagine and understand how scriveners were instrumental in the foundations of law, and the development of law. The concept still exists today in England for instance which under the Common Law still divides attorneys into Solicitors (those who study and write the law) and Barristers (those who go to court to argue fo the law).
Of course no distinction is always hard and fast.
Here is some history of scriveners from Perplexity:
The role of scriveners in legal history is significant, evolving from essential document producers to being replaced by technological advancements. Here's an overview of scriveners in law history:
Early Role in Law Offices
Scriveners were crucial in 19th-century American law offices:
They were responsible for copying, proofreading, and verifying the accuracy of legal documents
Scriveners held respected, well-paid positions, sometimes considered as important as the lawyers themselves
The heart of a 19th-century law office was document production, storage, and retrieval, with the scrivener at its core
Skills and Responsibilities
Scriveners did not have formal legal training
Their primary role was that of a copyist, producing "fair" copies of legal documents
Accuracy was paramount, as errors in documents could have catastrophic consequences
Technological Transition
The role of scriveners began to change with technological advancements:
Early 19th century saw the introduction of primitive copying devices like "copy presses"
By the late 19th century, typewriters began to replace scriveners
Typewriters revolutionized document production, increasing speed and efficiency
Impact on Law Offices
The transition from scriveners to typewriters had significant effects:
Typists, mostly women, replaced scriveners, changing the gender dynamics in law offices
Document production speed increased from about 30 words per minute (scriveners) to 100 words per minute (typists)
The change increased efficiency and profitability in law offices
Legacy
While the profession of scriveners in law offices has largely disappeared, their legacy continues:
The term "scrivener's error" remains in legal doctrine, referring to clerical errors in contracts or other legal documents
The transition from scriveners to typewriters and later to computers reflects the ongoing impact of technology on legal practice
This evolution from scriveners to modern document production methods illustrates how technological advancements have shaped the practice of law over time.
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Here is my point!
The computer may have “eliminated” the scrivener. Our accuracy is ensured (and presumed also in courts and in legal disputes and matters in and out of court) with software.
A contract written down is almost always presumed to be something legally significant, even if not totally legal or effective, just because it is written down.
Oral agreement remain more suspect.
YET, I AM SEEING THE RETURN OF THE SCRIVENER FROM THOSE VERY COMPUTERS WHICH TOOK THE SCRIVENER AWAY!
The rise of AI is a watershed moment. For the first time in history we have access to a plenitude of actionable legal and fact data; statutes cases persons companies histories lawsuits precedents similar fact patterns lawyers firms judges expert opinion - YOU NAME IT.
It’s a Data Buffet!
It is already and will continue to reconfigure law.
Can you not imagine a single lawyer with 3, 4, or even 5 data experts, “data sherpas” (?, like that!) mining and coalating and assembling and presenting hyper-data to said attorney! It is already happening beginningly in our major corporates who are “tinkering” stage with AI software for law. These will be free-lance everywhere in the world. These will be companies, and probably more commonly “collectives” sharing under the same cost umbrella of all the best tools, and many they create themselves.
The Age of the #Data Scrivener is here!
These are persons who will support legal operations in the most old fashioned ways and yet with all the best of the new technology tools here (and COMING).
Their virtue will be in their accuracy.
They will NOT BE LEGAL PROFESSIONALS.
Yet they are and will be increasingly key to not only sound legal work, but most ACCURATE legal work.
Scope can determine outcome, and also accuracy.
The lawyers of tomorrow using 1,000 accurate data sets and outputs > those using 3-4. It is the difference between a restaurant four box of crayons, and the box box with the sharpener.
Sharpener!
More content, context, detail, and ACCURACY from #Data Scriveners in law, just you watch!
And before you ask, do not ask a computer today to act as your data scrivener. Only the human mind can best apprehend fully context and content. AGI is mythology, only ASI is real. This is why I propose a form of AI I call HumanAI #HumanAIty = man + robot ftw! Humans and robots together. Yet the human does surgery with the robot, not surgery from robot.
[Do you remember the old crayon box with sharpener right on the outside? Alas I could NOT find an image online. This has to have been removed by the lawyer! “Injury! Risk!” Alas, sadly. This one says “sharpener included” its inside there somewhere, a separate piece, that way Plaintiff attorney can try suing the sharpener in Dongguan (good luck!) and leave Crayola out of it. -AIC]
