Heather Suttie is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading authorities on legal market strategy and management of legal services firms. In this article she addresses how artificial intelligence, pricing, and transience of the legal service sector’s workforce will cause the traditional law firm pyramid structure to rollover like an upending iceberg. The result? By 2030, global legal services will operate much differently than they do now.
With ChatGPT, law-school instructor Sean Harrington is rebuilding student assessment for the AI era. Sean—who teaches students AI and law at the University of Oklahoma and holds both a JD and an MS in Data Analytics—saw a core problem the moment generative AI went mainstream: traditional take-home exams no longer reveal what students really know.
Jordan Furlong contends right now it’s possible for an ordinary person to obtain from an LLM like ChatGPT-5 the performance of a legal task — the provision of legal analysis, the production of a legal instrument, the delivery of legal advice — that previously could only be acquired from a human lawyer. He further states he’s not saying a person should do that. The LLM’s output might be effective and reliable, or it might prove disastrously off-base. But many people are already using LLMs in this way, and in the absence of other accessible options for legal assistance, they will continue to do so. Furlong offers insights into the challenges such a paradigm shift pose as well as the consequences of not meeting the moment as the velocity of AI’s adoption permeates the legal profession.
This paper by Dennis Kennedy introduces a systematic methodology for transforming generic Large Language Models into specialized, persistent AI advisors and helpers through structured protocol frameworks and collaborative development processes, enabling reliable human-AI collaboration for complex decision-making across professional and personal domains. Large Language Models consistently underperform as specialized advisors due to context drift, personality inconsistency, and inability to prioritize curated knowledge sources. This paper introduces the Operational Protocol Method, a systematic approach for LLM specialization and assistance through structured persona engineering and collaborative development processes. The method transforms generic LLMs into reliable subject matter expert advisors while enabling coordinated multi-agent systems that maintain expertise boundaries across complex advisory tasks. Case studies in personal finance and note-taking demonstrate the method’s practical effectiveness and versatility across domains.
Jordan Furlong’s article expands analysis on the already noted risks arising from lawyers using AI. Generative AI can be incredibly, and dangerously, sycophantic. This is particularly worrisome for lawyers, because if they lose intellectual skills, what will they left to offer people? Furlong notes that the similarities between lawyer thinking and AI “thinking” should be a cause for alarm within the legal profession.
Deadlines are everything in patent law. A missed deadline can result in abandoned patent applications, loss of rights, and costly malpractice claims. Accordingly, deadline management is one of the most important functions of patent docketing. Traditional docketing systems rely heavily on manual data entry, introducing opportunities for human error. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) agents (“Agents”) offers a practical solution to reduce these risks. Agents can extract deadlines from United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) communications, populate docketing systems, and even provide attorneys with regular updates on upcoming tasks. Agents create a highly reliable docketing system that reduces clerical mistakes and malpractice exposure and may ultimately lower malpractice insurance premiums over time when combined with human oversight. This paper by John Schulte outlines the potential benefits of using AI agents in docketing workflows and proposes an implementation roadmap, including three key safeguards for law firms to consider.
Jerry Lawson reviews Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor’s new book, What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference is a timely wake-up call amidst today’s AI hype. Narayanan and Kapoor are on a mission to help readers separate genuine AI advances from “snake oil” – the bogus or overhyped claims that too often swirl around artificial intelligence. For lawyers and regulators grappling with AI, Narayanan and Kapoor’s analysis provides a much-needed reality check on both the technology’s potential and its pitfalls.
Attorney, legal tech expert, author, writer and educator Jerry Lawson shares an interview about his background, his career as a civil service lawyer, and his extensive contributions to continuing legal education programs from the nascent World Wide Web to present day innovations in AI technology.
Jerry Lawson evaluates the American Bar Association’s Formal Opinion 512, “Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools” as a mixed bag. Lawson states that the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility took a significant step in the right direction by legitimizing the idea that it is appropriate for lawyers to use AI. Equally important, it suggests guardrails necessary for the safe use of artificial intelligence. It also provides valuable guidance on other related topics, with client confidentiality significant. It should not be surprising that the ABA would face challenges regulating a complex new technology.
The total damage from Hurricane Helene to North Carolina – be it physical, psychological or economic – is difficult to quantify. But the numbers reported by the Office of State Budget and Management are harrowing: over 100 deaths, $59.6 billion in damages and thousands of homes destroyed, as of Dec. 13, 2024. This interview with disaster experts Leah Bright and Brian Michael Lione identifies resources for survivors and explains how to salvage damaged belongings. Bright is an objects conservator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where she’s responsible for the long-term preservation of the collection, including preventive care and repairs. Lione manages the International Cultural Heritage Protection Program at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, supporting disaster response globally, including in Iraq and the U.S.