Former Chief Justice McCormack argues the legal system is a public good most citizens can't access, comparing it to needing a special guide to use a public highway. With 92% of Americans unable to afford legal help, the system is fundamentally failing the majority it's meant to serve.

The perceived politicization of established legal institutions, such as the Delaware Chancery Court, undermines the principle of "rule of law." This creates a powerful opening for "rule of code," where smart contracts provide a deterministic, impartial alternative that cannot be retroactively altered by a judge.

Former Michigan Chief Justice Bridget McCormack argues that the legal system's probabilistic nature, driven by human fallibility, is a core inefficiency. Greater predictability would reduce disputes by allowing businesses and individuals to plan around clear, consistently enforced rules.

Municipal police budgets are often inflexible and almost entirely allocated to headcount, leaving no room for technology upgrades. Public-private partnerships, where companies or individuals make relatively small donations, are emerging as a critical model for funding essential tech like drones and AI.

A regulator who approves a new technology that fails faces immense public backlash and career ruin. Conversely, they receive little glory for a success. This asymmetric risk profile creates a powerful incentive to deny or delay new innovations, preserving the status quo regardless of potential benefits.

VC Keith Rabois highlights a core conflict: law firms billing by the hour are disincentivized from adopting AI that makes associates more efficient, as it reduces revenue. This explains why corporate legal departments are faster adopters—their goal is to cut costs.

Unlike private enterprises, government-run entities are inherently inefficient. They lack the two fundamental drivers of improvement: market-based price signals and direct competition, which remove any incentive to innovate or improve.

The government's core model for funding, oversight, and talent management is a relic of the post-WWII industrial era. Slapping modern technology like AI onto this outdated 'operating system' is a recipe for failure. A fundamental backend overhaul is required, not just a frontend facelift.

In risk-averse sectors like law, AI's ability to automate core, revenue-generating tasks (e.g., writing) acts as the primary driver for innovation. The threat of being made obsolete forces legacy players to embrace technology and new business models they would otherwise ignore or resist.