This is, of course, a logical fallacy, known by
The first sentence does contain a modicum of truth - lawyers do love dense, impenetrable language and are paid by the sentence rather than the reduced sentence. But the claim implied by the second is – well how to put it – just plain silly.
The implications of smart contracts such as those described are interesting.
For example, next time: someone crashes into your car; or you divorce; buy a house; or sell a business product overseas, you do not have to dial 1-800-Dodgy Lawyer. No - what you have to do is get the kid next door to knock up a few lines of Java code on his/her smart-phone and problem solved!
In future, computer programmers without any training or expertise in the law will, according to this vision, write binding legal documents, called smart contracts, that will be executed automatically without any grownups being involved. What could possibly go wrong?
