The ABA Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence was created in August 2023 to address the impact of AI on the legal profession and the practice of law. In August 2024, the Task Force issued its first report, entitled Year I Report on the Impact of AI on the Practice of Law.
The law firm Ropes & Gray has created a "Standing Orders and Local Rules on the Use of AI" tracker. The tracker provides an interactive map and indicates whether the relevant orders and/or rules apply to all AI usage or just to generative AI usage.
A summary report of a survey conducted by LexisNexis between March and July 2023. 7,950 lawyers, law students, and consumers across the U.S., U.K., Canada, and France were surveyed about their overall awareness of generative AI, its anticipated impact on the practice of law, and expectations of adoption. The full report is linked here. You can read analysis of the report on the LawSites Blog and on the Dewey B. Strategic Blog.
Federal Judge Brantley Starr (N.D. Texas) is now requiring attorneys and pro se litigants who appear before him to certify "either that no portion of any filing will be drafted by generative artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT, Harvey.AI, or Google Bard) or that any language drafted by generative artificial intelligence will be checked for accuracy, using print reporters or traditional legal databases, by a human being." See Judge Starr's Web page for the full certification requirement.
Highlighted articles (most recent articles listed first):
Artificial Intelligence and Constitutional Interpretation
by Andrew Coan and Harry Surden, Nov. 12, 2024 (SSRN)
This Article examines the potential use of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT in constitutional interpretation. Two key implications emerge: First, it is crucial to attend carefully to particular use cases and institutional contexts. Relatedly, judges and lawyers must develop "AI literacy" to use LLMs responsibly. Second, there is no avoiding the burdens of judgment. For any given task, LLMs may be better or worse than humans, but the choice of whether and how to use them is itself a judgment requiring normative justification.
Law and Technological Innovations: Three Reasons to Pause
by Michael L. Smith, Sept. 24, 2024 (SSRN)
Faced with optimistic accounts of technological innovations, businesses, law firms, and governments face pressure to rush into adopting these technologies and enjoying the increased efficiency, reduced costs, and other benefits that are promised. This essay sets forth reasons to pause before adopting such technologies. First, new technology is often contrasted with unrealistically dire portrayals of the status quo, which leads to exaggerated accounts of how beneficial the new technology will be. Second, overconfidence in technological fixes, as well as tendencies against revisiting and critiquing traditional ways of doing things may lead to an entrenchment of harmful systems. Third, the institutional incentives and pressures in which technology is employed may affect how that technology is used—leading to unanticipated consequences for those who only consider how technology functions in non-legal settings.
Generative AI, Plagiarism, and Copyright Infringement in Legal Documents
by Amy Cyphert, August 28, 2024 (SSRN)
Lawyers are increasingly using generative AI in their legal practice, especially for drafting motions and other documents they file with courts. As they use this new technology, many questions arise, especially surrounding lawyers’ ethical duties with respect to the use of generative AI. The focus of this article is on two intriguing intellectual property questions that emerge when lawyers choose to use large language models like ChatGPT. First, might these lawyers be engaging in actionable, discipline-worthy plagiarism? Second, could these lawyers potentially be liable for copyright violations?
AI, Lawyers, and the Courts
by Megan Boyd, June 18, 2024 (SSRN)
This article explores generative AI (GenAI) and demonstrates how various GenAI programs, including those designed for lawyers, work. It goes on to outline benefits of and problems with GenAI, discusses the ways courts have attempted to regulate GenAI usage, and recommends an approach to GenAI rules that helps ensure compliance with ethical and other obligations while encouraging the development and use of GenAI programs that have the power to transform law practice.
Generative AI and Legal Aid: Results from a Field Study and 100 Use Cases to Bridge the Access to Justice Gap
by Colleen V. Chien and Miriam Kim, March 14, 2024 (SSRN)
The authors' study results suggest that generative AI tools can significantly enhance legal professionals and narrow the justice gap, but that how they are introduced matter - though women comprise the majority of public interest lawyers, organic uptake of generative AI was much higher among men in our study. Assistance can also improve tool adoption. The participants’ positive experiences support viewing AI technologies as augmenting rather than threatening the work of lawyers. Along with the paper, the authors released a companion database of 100 helpful use cases, including prompts and outputs, provided by legal aid professionals in the trial, to support broader adoption of AI tools.
The Legal Ethics of Generative AI
by Andrew M. Perlman, Feb. 22, 2024 (SSRN)
The legal profession is notoriously conservative when it comes to change. From email to outsourcing, lawyers have been slow to embrace new methods and quick to point out potential problems, especially ethics-related concerns. The legal profession’s approach to generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) is following a similar pattern. But the author closes with the following proposition: the careful use of generative AI is not only consistent with lawyers’ ethical duties, but the duty of competence may eventually require lawyers’ use of generative AI. The technology is likely to become so important to the delivery of legal services that lawyers who fail to use it will be considered as incompetent as lawyers today who do not know how to use computers, email, or online legal research tools.
Lawyering in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
by Jonathan H. Choi, Amy Monahan, and Daniel Schwarcz, Nov. 9, 2023 (SSRN)
A summary of the first randomized controlled trial of AI assistance’s effect on human legal analysis, conducted by three law professors. The authors found mixed results for the improvement of quality of work but universal increases in efficiency, and said that the results suggest generative AI may have an equalizing effect on the legal profession.
Artificial Intelligence and the Practice of Law Part 1: Lawyers Must be Professional and Responsible Supervisors of AI
by Michael D. Murray, July 19, 2023 (SSRN)
This article discusses the benefits and challenges of using AI systems to assist lawyers in legal practice. It argues that at present AI systems are not a threat to take over lawyers’ jobs, but rather a powerful tool that can enhance the efficiency and quality of lawyers’ work. However, it also warns that AI systems are not infallible and require professional and responsible supervision by lawyers. The article provides some best practices and recommendations for lawyers to ensure the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated legal work.
The GPTJudge: Justice in a Generative AI World
by Maura R. Grossman, Paul W. Grimm, Daniel G. Brown, and Molly Xu, May 26, 2023 (SSRN)
This article offers a comprehensive, yet understandable, explanation of what GenAI is and how it functions. It explores evidentiary issues that must be addressed by the bench and bar to determine whether actual or asserted (i.e., deepfake) GenAI output should be admitted as evidence in civil and criminal trials. Importantly, it offers practical, step-by- step recommendations for courts and attorneys to follow in meeting the evidentiary challenges posed by GenAI. Finally, it highlights additional impacts that GenAI evidence may have on the development of substantive IP law, and its potential impact on what the future may hold for litigating cases in a GenAI world.
ChatGPT And Legal Writing: A Perfect Union?
by Joseph Regalia, March 2, 2023 (SSRN)
Suggestions for using ChatGPT in legal writing.
Can ChatGPT Think Like a Lawyer?
by Lea Bishop, Jan. 2023 (SSRN)
The author prompts ChatGPT to answer questions about "thinking like a lawyer," IRAC, and how to paraphrase legal language. The paper makes an analogy between legal writing and solving a math problem.
Other articles of interest:
These are a mix of news articles and opinion pieces.
Highlighted articles (most recent articles listed first):
Getting Started with GenAI in Legal Practice
December 5, 2024 (Wisblawg)
This article offers advice for approaching generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in legal practice, examines types of GenAI tools and key policy considerations, and provides a step-by-step approach to building competence.
Keys to Using GenAI in Your Law Practice? Caution and Common Sense
by Jordan Turk, October 2024 (Attorney at Law Legal Tech Blog)
This blog post discusses ways for attorneys to understand generative AI's capabilities, learn its pitfalls, create safeguards, and stay on top of new developments.
When AI Assistants Overshare: Best Practices for Lawyers Using Gen AI Productivity Tools
October 2, 2024 (Wisblawg)
This blog post discusses the idea that that generative AI tools themselves are not inherently problematic; instead the responsibility lies with legal professionals to understand and use them appropriately.
Law Firms Start Training Summer Associates on Using Generative AI
by Justin Wise, June 4, 2024 (Bloomberg Law News)
Some Big Law firms are now making summer associates learn the ins and outs of generative AI as they begin integrating what's considered to be a game-changing technology for the profession. Future junior lawyers won’t be replaced by AI, as some fear, but they will need to harness it to be successful. That includes understanding how to effectively interact with generative AI chatbots to unearth the most useful information for clients.
11th Circuit Judge Uses ChatGPT in Deciding Appeal, Encourages Others to Consider It
by Stephanie Wilkins, June 4, 2024 (Law.com Legal Tech News)
In a move he himself admitted might be seen by the profession as "heresy" or "unthinkable", Judge Kevin Newsom of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit not only admitted to using ChatGPT to help decide an appeal, he also wrote a 32-page concurrence outlining exactly how. In the May 28 opinion, Newson laid out his use of the generative AI chatbot to help inform his analysis of a key issue in an insurance appeal, and encouraged the legal community to consider following his lead.
Legal AI Under the Microscope: Stanford HAI’s In-Depth Analysis of Lexis and Westlaw AI Tools
by Greg Lambert, May 31, 2024 (3 Geeks and a Law Blog)
The author reflects on the recent Stanford HAI Report on Legal AI Research Tools which presents rigorous and insightful research into the performance of generative AI tools for legal research, specifically Lexis+ AI and Westlaw's AI-Assisted Research. The author also provides criticism of the original version of the report.
What Law Students Should Know About Generative AI Before Their Summer Jobs
by Nick Hafen, April 30, 2024 (Law.com Legal Tech News)
For law school students preparing to start their summer jobs, internships, externships, and clerkships, now is the time to get up to speed on the latest in legal technology: generative AI (GenAI). Your employer may be excited about, opposed to, or oblivious to this relatively new and rapidly evolving technology. In any of those cases, you can impress your employer and distinguish yourself from other job candidates by being familiar with the basics of GenAI technology, how it can empower legal professionals and potential hazards to watch out for.
GenAI Is Not Stupid, But It Is Ignorant
by Ryan McLead, February 20, 2024 (3 Geeks and a Law Blog)
What Makes A Generative AI Rollout Successful At A Law Firm
by Steven Lerner, January 30, 2024 (Law360 - current Lexis ID and password required for access)
A write-up of a session held on the opening day of the Legalweek Conference in New York City, in which three law librarians with BigLaw firms candidly shared their experiences implementing and testing generative AI tools..
A Gift for Lawyers in the New Year: OpenAI’s Prompt Guide for ChatGPT
by Michael Maschke, Sharon Nelson, and John Simek (Attorney at Work Blog)
The authors discuss the ChatGPT prompt guide created by OpenAI and how to use it to “up your game” when using ChatGPT or other LLMs.
Replacing Attorney Review? Sidley's Experimental Assessment of GPT-4's Performance in Document Review
by Robert D. Keeling, December 13, 2023 (LegalTech News, originally published in The American Lawyer)
Robert D. Keeling, partner and founder and head of Sidley Austin’s eDiscovery and Data Analytics group. details findings of a test of GPT-4's ability to step in on e-discovery, offering the pros and cons of using the tool for document review.
44% of Investment Bankers Think They Can Make Lots of Money Off of Attorney Insecurity (AI)
Generative AI Could Reduce Law Firm Revenue by 23.5%
AI-Pocalypse: The Shocking Impact on Law Firm Profitability
A three-part article series on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog, August 2023, in which the authors attempt to extrapolate the actual effects of Generative AI on the legal industry and examine how those changes may affect profitability in unexpected ways
No, Ruth Bader Ginsburg did not dissent in Obergefell — and other things ChatGPT gets wrong about the Supreme Court, by James Romoser on SCOTUSblog, Jan. 26 2023.
Forget The Future. Attorneys Are Using Generative AI Now, by Steven Lerner, Law360, Jan. 30, 2023.
The Focus on ChatGPT Is Missing the Forest for the Tree: New AI Models Are Really, Ridiculously Powerful and The Focus on ChatGPT Is Missing the Forest for the Tree: The Usual Suspect Is Merely the Tip of the AI Iceberg, a two-part article series by Casey Flaherty in Law.com, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2023.
Other articles of interest:
Written by attorney Carolyn Elefant, Frequently Asked Questions and Suggested Best Practices Related to Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Legal Profession addresses critical AI topics like copyright issues, client privacy, ethical use, and more, all from the perspective of the small firm/solo practitioner.
On January 31, 2024, LexisNexis released results from a survey of leaders from large law firms and Fortune 1000 corporations to better understand their adoption, use, and planned investment in generative AI technology. The survey, entitled “What Every C Suite Leader Needs to Know about Legal AI", is available for download here. A summary of the survey can be found on the Dewey B. Strategic blog.
