A SAN FRANCISCO-BASED company that fights parking tickets by using artificial intelligence and automated processes has been sued for the unauthorized practice of law.

In a lawsuit filed against DoNotPay Inc. in San Francisco Superior Court on Tuesday, Jonathan Faridian of Yolo County seeks damages for alleged violations of California’s unfair competition law, alleging that he would not have subscribed if he knew that the “World’s First Robot Lawyer,” as the company calls itself, was not actually a lawyer.

Continue reading for free

Sign in to read this story and receive the weekly roundup in your inbox.

Or

Success! Your account was created and you’re signed in.
Please visit My Account to manage your account.

Joe Dworetzky is a second career journalist. He practiced law in Philadelphia for more than 35 years, representing private and governmental clients in commercial litigation and insolvency proceedings. Joe served as City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia under Mayor Ed Rendell and from 2009 to 2013 was one of five members of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission with responsibility for managing the city’s 250 public schools. He moved to San Francisco in 2011 and began writing fiction and pursuing a lifelong interest in editorial cartooning. Joe earned a Master’s in Journalism from Stanford University in 2020. He covers Legal Affairs and writes long form Investigative stories. His occasional cartooning can be seen in Bay Area Sketchbook. Joe encourages readers to email him story ideas and leads at joe.dworetzky@baycitynews.com.