Immigration Lawyers on Why AI Is a Game Changer

On October 15, 2024, Noodle hosted a webinar titled: Using AI to Modernize & Scale Your Immigration Practice. This article recaps part of the discussion.

Immigration law requires regular communication with clients and a lot of processes. And it’s exactly in these areas where artificial intelligence (AI) can shine. But it can also do a lot more than that.

Read on to learn why both attorneys Lilia Alcaraz, of Alcaraz Tocchini LLP, and Pradeek Susheelan, of Susheelan Law Firm, believe in AI.

A Scalable Practice

Growing your practice often means taking on more clients. But this can lead to biting off more than you can chew. AI can help you take on more work without burning yourself out. “With AI handling routine tasks, then I can take on more cases, and it will actually even help me with my work-life balance,” Alcaraz says. “I don’t want to take on more cases if I don’t have the help because I don’t want to be overwhelmed. AI will really help me in this situation.” 

Another Set of “Eyes”

Getting someone to review your work can help you catch mistakes, but if you’re a solo practitioner or have a small team that can’t spare an extra moment to look over your work, AI can step in. “It's always helpful to have someone review your work,” Alcaraz says. “In this case, it was AI.” 

Increased Clarity

AI can give your client more information about their case. And it can also ensure you know exactly where each case is. “One of the most common things that I used to get was… ‘How long is it going to take to get processed? Is everything OK?’” Susheelan says. But with Noodle, specifically, his clients receive prompts and regular updates. 

A More Even Playing Field

Bigger firms have the budget to use the latest, cutting-edge technology. This isn’t always accessible or feasible to smaller firms, but there are AI tools that can put you on a more even playing field. 

“This software is software that large firms are already taking advantage of. They build their systems on Salesforce,” Alcaraz says. “They have the money to create these big AI tech systems, and small law firms don’t. [With] Noodle and other AI programs that cater to small law firms, we also get the opportunity.” 

24/7 Availability

Immigration clients may reach out when they have an emergency, and your website may not clearly provide answers on whether you can help them. “Picture this, there's a frantic client who needs help and your website and all they see is a contact,” Alcaraz says. “That's not really going to help the client. So it's important to have an AI chatbot on your website that can immediately answer questions and guide the client through the process.”

More Productive Intakes

Clients don’t necessarily understand the intricacies of law and how specialized the field is. They may reach out to any lawyer with unrelated cases, and that can be a time suck for lawyers. AI can filter out people who you can’t represent. “We get so many phone calls, and a lot of these phone calls are not applicable to the law that we practice,” Alcaraz adds. “We end up paying high fees for phone calls that are not going to go anywhere. A chatbot [can] qualify the client.” 

A Stronger Team 

You don’t need to hire as big a team to make an impact. You can have a core group of people you trust to work with you. “Instead of having six or seven average paralegals, who I don't know how long they're going to last there, how much of training am I going to provide, and they're going to stick around or they're not going to stick around,” Susheelan adds. “I can have those two or three paralegals who over the years have done a lot of work, and they're amazing at what they do. And I can pay them more now because they're more productive.”