In February, Attorney-at-Code turned two years old, OpenAI broke the internet (again) with Sora, and the Generative AI frenzy is nowhere near stopping.
Below are some of my favorite reading and writing from the past month, including, but not limited to:
- a podcast episode where Legal Ops legend talks with a Innovative Law School legend about Generative AI use cases and legal education
- a summary of responses in a poll of 300 M&A practitioners about where GenAI is going
- a book that will help you frame your non-linear legal career, and
- some more reading on a wide range of topics – from EdTech to tech washing
Mary O’Caroll and Andrew Perlman on AI, education, and law
Quick takeaway: Confidentiality is still the biggest worry and limiting factor in generative AI use, but long-term these issues are likely to be solved – and then it will be still all about designing use cases.
I have been listening to Pearls on, gloves off by Mary O’Carroll quite religiously for some time, but the new episode is really amazing.
Her guest was Andrew Perlman, the Dean of Suffolk University Law School and the godfather of innovation-driven legal education.
During the talk, they discuss the current and future Generative AI use cases, how the next generation of lawyers will be trained (my favorite topic), and discuss which leverage points to focus to achieve lasting innovation in the legal sector.
Generative AI in M&A: Where hope meets hype
Quick takeaway: It will take a lot of testing, prototyping, and designing Generative AI use cases to maintain a sustainable competitive edge. Develop a plan for how to use your data, and begin gathering it now.
The article sums up a poll 300 M&A practitioners about their views on using generative AI in their practice.
Generative AI use for M&A deal processes is low at 16% today, but it is expected to reach 80% over the next three years. Due diligence is of course on the chopping block, as this is an area that has been a target for disruption by many AI tools even before ChatGPT took over the spotlight.
But important to note: “In terms of realizing benefits, it takes us as much time to go through generative AI as it saves us in writing summaries or crafting reports.” It is an important message: you need to invest the time to understand the tech and prototype to reap the benefits and maintain your edge down the line.
I found this article in the Brainyacts newsletter by Josh Kubicki, which remains one of the most interesting sources on the topic.
Legal Design Book Club is reading Range
Quick takeaway: Range is a fantastic book for anyone considering or navigating a non-linear career path. Join the legal design book club to talk about creativity, productivity, and other related topics.
Lawyers tend to be hyperspecialised. As building yourself up as an expert in your field takes a lot of time, we are told as early as law school: now is the time to choose one topic for the rest of your life, or you are going to fall behind.
Range, on the other hand, argues that insights into how broad knowledge across multiple fields can fuel innovation and problem-solving. This is highly relevant to legal design, which often requires interdisciplinary approaches.
Follow the hashtag legaldesignbookclub on LinkedIn for all updates and community reviews – and add your own point of view into the conversation.
Even more reading on legal design, technology, and AI
If you would like to read even more, here is a little digest from my writing from the past month:
- Legal Design is not about making “pretty” legal documents…
- …but good service design should not ignore legal design either
- Legal education needs more EdTech – so I gave a talk on this with the Department of Legal Skills and here is what I am taking out of it
- Ever wondered if Generative AI is making us dummer? Here is a piece on that – highly recommend the comment section
- Amidst all that, beware of tech washing
Did you discover anything interesting this month?
Did you find any other cool legal tech resources that you’d like add to spread the love?
Let me know in the comments!
Baru
