Law firm files class action lawsuit against “robot lawyer” company

US company DoNotPay, which claims to have developed the “world’s first robot lawyer”, is being sued by a major law firm that claims the company is practicing law without having a license to do so.

DoNotPay “is not really a robot, a lawyer or a law firm,” law firm Edelson said in a class action lawsuit filed in a San Francisco court on March 3.

Edelson sued on behalf of California resident Jonathan Faridian, who claims he used DoNotPay’s services to write business petitions, lawsuits and operating agreements with “substandard and low-quality” results.

DoNotPay Chief Executive Joshua Browder said on Twitter on Thursday that the lawsuit is “meritless” and that Faridian has “dozens of successful consumer rights cases won with DoNotPay.”

Browder said that Edelson founder Jay Edelson “inspired me to start DoNotPay,” claiming that Edelson and lawyers like him got rich through class actions with little benefit to consumers. Edelson did not comment on the matter.

Browder founded DoNotPay in 2015 with a focus on parking ticket litigation and the company has grown to include some legal services, according to the lawsuit.

DoNotPay sparked controversy earlier this year when Browder said on Twitter that the company had plans to use an artificial intelligence chatbot to advise a defendant in a US traffic court.

Browder also said his company would pay $1 million to anyone willing to wear headphones while using the company’s robot lawyer service to defend themselves before the US Supreme Court.

The lawsuit filed against DoNotPay alleges that the company violated California’s unfair competition law by engaging in the practice of law without having a license to do so. The lawsuit seeks a court order declaring the company’s conduct illegal and unspecified damages.