When it comes to legal AI tech, the question is no longer whether legal professionals should engage with AI, but how to do so effectively and responsibly. The conversation has shifted from adoption to safe engagement and maximizing efficiency. In this webinar moderated by Ironclad Chief Community Officer Mary O’Carroll, a panel of distinguished experts from academia, law firms, and in-house legal teams including David Wilkins, Lester Kissel Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, Kate Orr, Global Head of Practice Innovation at Orrick, Renny Hwang, Deputy General Counsel at OpenAI, Milana McCullagh, VP & Head of Legal at Reddit shared their insights on the current state of AI in legal practice. Here are a few takeaways from their conversation.
Key Takeaways
- AI adoption is still in early stages. While AI is making waves, the legal industry is still in the early stages of adoption. Most firms and legal departments are in experimentation mode, trying to identify practical use cases. The focus is primarily on using AI to accelerate existing tasks rather than completely transforming processes.
- AI is a tool for augmentation, not replacement. As Milana McCullagh from Reddit put it, “The main theme for us here is human augmentation–where AI is helping to make a process more efficient, but the ultimate decision maker is still always the human.” The focus is on using AI to handle volume and structured tasks, allowing lawyers to focus on higher-level strategic work.
- We’ll need to rethink legal education and training. The rise of AI is prompting questions about the future of legal education and training. David Wilkins from Harvard Law School pointed out that traditional apprenticeship models may need to evolve. However, he stressed the importance of preserving essential human lawyering skills. The challenge lies in identifying what these core skills are and how to enhance them through technology while also protecting them from being eroded by it.
- AI has the power to transform the field of law. AI isn’t going to replace lawyers, but it has the potential to significantly transform the legal profession. New roles and skills will emerge, redefining what it means to be a legal professional. As Renny Hwang from OpenAI noted, we’re seeing “exciting, interesting use cases” every day, suggesting that the full impact of AI on the legal industry is yet to be realized.
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