From: terrell@sam.neosoft.com (Buford Terrell)
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 95 16:25:19 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: cryptography eliminates lawyers?
Message-ID: <199509062335.SAA02364@sam.neosoft.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>From: "Cortland D. Starrett" <cort@bioanalytical.com>
>Subject: cryptography eliminates lawyers?

>As a follow-up to the article reference I posted, I pose the
>following question:
>
>Will cryptographic technology and information (communication)
>technology reduce the need for legal services in the future?
>(especially regarding contracts, buying/selling, patent law, etc.)
>Will legal services just look different?  Will they be more
>efficient (cheaper)?
>
>Put bluntly, will cryptography put lawyers out of business?
>Any comments would be appreciated.
>
>Cort.
>
How could crypto put lawyers out of business?  People would still
have disagreements; plans would still go wrong; cars would still
crash.  More important, transactions would still need to be 
structured to carry out the desires of the parties while minimizing
risks.

Good communications technology, including crypto, could make lawyering
more efficient, but I suspect the savings would be minimal.

Communications technology will no more put lawyers out of business
than CASE put programmers out of business.
Buford C. Terrell                       1303 San Jacinto Street
Professor of Law                              Houston, TX 77002
South Texas College of Law                voice   (713)646-1857
terrell@sam.neosoft.com                     fax   (713)646-1766