Technology’s Effect on Advocacy
The Case for Human Beings in the AI Era: The Employment Lawyer Perspective By Alexis R. Gamliel, Carlen L. Don
First and foremost, a message to the reader: The entirety of this article was concocted and drafted by the authors themselves—not by any AI agent, platform, or program. The content you are about to read is completely authentic, not artificial. At CAOC, our mission is simple: seeking justice for all. The hallmark of our civil justice system is the human element; there is nothing artificial about trying a case to a jury, giving a client her day in court, and securing justice. The pursuit of justice by jury trial is as real as it gets; and it must be done by a human, for a human. When it comes to seeking and securing justice for individuals who have been wronged, while artificial intelligence (“AI”) may be used responsibly in the backdrop of a case, the human element shines— and should remain—at center stage. This is one of the many reasons why, behind the scenes, although we can and should harness AI ethically for efficiency (and sometimes, for creativity support), we cannot lose sight of the bedrock of our justice system, which is our humanity. After all, human beings appear in court. Human beings advocate, they try cases.
Human beings are our plaintiffs. Human beings are the heartbeat of our justice system. And so, why would we defer all of the building blocks of a case, or of a plaintiffs’ law firm, to AI? Why would we relinquish a critical part of our power as attorneys for the people who need us? From the employment attorney vantage point, this article will explore two main arenas where we must maintain a firm grasp on our humanity: (1) in the courts, specifically while in trial and preparing for trial; and (2) in the culture of our workplaces. We will address the importance of hiring real people versus outsourcing everything to AI, to perform the work. This article will expound upon the value-add that humans with heart bring to the profession (how humans can intelligently and compassionately relate to clients, which AI cannot do), as well as the value to the business/firm and society as a whole for things like interpersonal relationships, “paying it forward” by training the next generation of attorneys and legal staff, and more.
Alexis Gamliel is the CEO, Founder & Principal Trial Attorney of Gamliel Law, based in Los Angeles. Handling both employment and personal injury matters, Alexis maintains a particular emphasis on representing employees in sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, and whistleblower cases. She is the 2026 Treasurer serving the CAOC Executive Committee. alexis@gamliellaw.com
Carlen Don is an Attorney at Gamliel Law, where she represents California employees who have been wronged in the workplace. Carlen takes pride in standing up against corporations and public entities in matters of discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, harassment, and wage and hour violations. carlen@gamliellaw.com
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Consumer Attorneys of California
FORUM September/October 2026
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