Podcast Episode 40: The Challenges, Benefits, and Realities of AI Adoption for Legal Professionals with Stephen Embry

Stephen Embry

In this episode, Ted Theodoropoulos interviews Stephen Embry, publisher of TechLaw Crossroads, to discuss the transformative potential of generative AI in the legal industry. Stephen offers a nuanced view of AI adoption in law firms, highlighting the often overlooked gap between perception and actual use. He also touches on how AI could significantly influence the training of junior associates, presenting both opportunities and challenges for the future of legal practice. This engaging conversation explores how AI might reshape the legal profession.

Stephen provides valuable insights on:

  • Integrating generative AI tools into legal workflows
  • Identifying AI use cases for law firms of all sizes
  • Addressing challenges in training junior associates with AI
  • Using AI to reduce the technology gap between large and small firms
  • Measuring AI’s effectiveness while mitigating risks in legal environments

Key takeaways:

  • Although surveys suggest that AI is widely adopted, many lawyers are not actively using these tools, revealing a gap between expectations and reality.
  • Larger law firms are leveraging AI more quickly than smaller firms due to greater resources, further widening the gap between them.
  • Generative AI tools can assist junior lawyers by generating lists of questions for tasks like depositions, which improves efficiency and builds confidence.
  • Ethical concerns, including data privacy and potential bias in AI, must be carefully managed as AI becomes more integrated into legal practice.

About the guest, Stephen Embry:

Stephen Embry is a lawyer, speaker, blogger, and writer. He publishes TechLaw Crossroads, a blog focused on exploring the tension between technology, the law, and the practice of law. He is a past Chair of the ABA’s Law Practice Division and the Chair of the Kentucky Bar Association’s Law Practice Committee. Additionally, Stephen is the past Chair of the Data Breach, Privacy, and Cyber Insurance Section of the FDCC, a member of the FDCC Evolve Program, and a faculty member of FedTechU. He also serves as Webinar Chair and Steering Committee member of the Defense Research Institute’s Law Practice Management section. As a national litigator and advisor, Stephen specializes in mass tort, business and consumer class action, and privacy and data breach cases.

“These tools aren’t going to go away, and we can’t just say, ‘Well, we’re going to keep doing what we’ve always done and not adopt these programs,’ because lawyers, especially younger ones, are frankly going to use them no matter what we do.”– Stephen Embry

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