The term "transformational law" means many things to different people, depending on the historical context. Throughout my entire career, it has not been unusual to work with (or for) female attorneys. As a young associate fresh out of law school, one of my mentors (who is still a dear friend) was a brilliant attorney who also happened to be a woman. I am now the president and CEO of a small and growing law firm with two Texas offices, and my co-founder and law partner is a woman. For the generation ahead of me, however, women attorneys (not to mention equity partners) were more uncommon. The historical shift of women joining the ranks of attorneys in private practice is an example of wide-scale transformation that has profoundly impacted (for the better) the legal profession.
In today's "artificial" world, transformational law takes on an entirely new dimension given the potential impact of AI on attorneys. A seismic shift is taking place, a once-in-a-generation transformation, that is sure to disrupt the legal profession as we know it. This change is being spurred by rapidly emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications that will, I believe, only become more prevalent (and essential?) as the technology improves.
Will there ever come a day when AI attorneys are allowed to represent clients in legal matters? Probably not. Hopefully not. But the day is already here when more and more legal research, analysis, writing will be performed in part with the assistance of generative AI technologies such as ChatGPT, Harvey.AI, or Google Bard. Like it or not, AI technology is here to stay. A question facing attorneys is how to harness the power of AI so it becomes a blessing and not something to be feared. This blog will tackle that question (and many others) and explore the impact of AI on attorneys and the modern transformational law practice.
"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future." - President John F. Kennedy