Sinceerly pledges to rid your emails of markers that scream AI.
A New App Teaching You To Make Mistakes
Is your sentence structure too perfect? Are you known for using just the right word to communicate your point?
Congratulations. Apparently, you are a robot. But now there’s an app to fix that.
The creator of Sinceerly.com [sic] claims to have created the “anti-Grammarly.” Sinceerly revises your emails to make you seem human. It does this by creating errors. This does not appear to be a joke. The website offers a free trial with the option to upgrade to a paid version.
Sinceerly pledges to rid your emails of markers that scream AI. For example, overuse of em-dashes and transitional words can be an AI “tell.” AI text can be wordy. It often creates awkward, overly formal sentences. It looks like Sinceerly will catch some of that, and that’s all to the good. But an overly informal tone, such as by substituting contractions for two words, can undercut a lawyer’s message. Demand letters aren’t supposed to be soft and cuddly.
Sinceerly promises to “add some typos” because “humans make mistakes.”
The intentional insertion of misspellings will definitely turn off some message recipients.
I would not hire an applicant who sent an email with bad grammar. I would think less of another professional who sent an email full of mistakes. That could affect my evaluation of the case. A sloppy email might be a sign of sloppy case preparation. Humans do make mistakes. Clients, prospects and judges have zero tolerance.
Sinceerly only reviews emails — for now.
Might briefs and contracts be the next candidates for intentional errors? It seems inconceivable that someone would choose technology to create mistakes in their writing, but Sinceerly exists.
Robots Aren’t Inherently Bad — But Humans are Better
It’s fine to use a grammar and style checker. But a human still needs to review the output before a document can go out. A robot does not know the nuances of your topic and can create errors.
Easily available resources like ChatGPT and Claude can produce terrible results even if you’re using the paid version. In general, you get what you pay for.
If you don’t like Grammarly, there are tons of alternatives. Writing improvement technology geared specifically to the legal market includes WordRake, BriefCatch, PerfectIt and Clearbrief. Spellbook and Ivo are geared for contract review.
Whether consumer-grade AI or legal AI, humans need to review robotic output.
AI technology is changing rapidly. An efficient way to test drive the latest offerings is to attend a tech expo sponsored by a bar or legal specialization association.
But AI Is Such A Time-Saver
A plethora of recent articles for lawyers has offered advice on how to reconfigure your fees so your new AI efficiency doesn’t reduce your billings. Long before AI existed, many law practice management gurus encouraged lawyers to substitute flat fees for hourly billing. Flat fees can better reflect the expertise the client sought. An experienced expert can provide a practical solution in a fraction of the time it takes a novice to research and devise a plan that may be flawed. Hourly billing can reward incompetence.
If you have the happy problem of having more work than time to do it, choose a different option than overreliance on AI.
One choice is to bite the short-term financial bullet and hire someone. That could be an associate, a paralegal or a part-timer. Unsure of taking on a long-term commitment? Dip your toe in the hiring market by bringing in a temporary worker. Numerous services offer temporary high-quality lawyering. These candidates are often big firm refugees. Remember, you are still responsible for any work done in your name, whether robotic or human.
Another choice is to improve the quality of your case inventory. Stop spending time on the least productive cases. Refer them to someone who will be glad to have them. Concentrate on creating the highest quality legal product for the most remunerative clients.
When was the last time you reviewed your rates? Regardless of your billing method, it may be time to increase your rates. Some clients will drop off, freeing up time for the professionals in your office to best serve the remaining clients.
AI can indeed save time, but it must be used carefully in conjunction with other systems in the law firm.
That includes humans.
Get to the Point!
More Writing Tips
Find more good ideas for improving your legal writing and communications skills in “Get to the Point” by Teddy Snyder.
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