Legal Ethics and Generative AI: Reasoning Models, Agents, and Emerging Risks

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the legal profession, and understanding its evolving forms is now essential for ethical, effective practice. In this program, attorney Eran Kahana breaks down how these technologies function, how they differ, and where they pose unique legal and ethical risks. The course explores the rise of agentic AI, the increasing autonomy of AI ecosystems, and their implications for privacy, data governance, and professional responsibility. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of the legal ethics rules implicated by AI use (including ABA Model Rules 1.1, 1.5, 5.3, and 5.5), and walk away with best practices for integrating AI into legal workflows while maintaining compliance, competence, and client trust.

Learning Objectives:

1. Differentiate between generative AI, reasoning models, and AI agents, including their capabilities and limitations

2. Assess the ethical implications of AI in legal practice under the ABA Model Rules, particularly those related to competence, supervision, and unauthorized practice

3. Evaluate how AI's "power of augmentation" impacts data privacy, cybersecurity, and legal risk

4. Apply best practices for responsibly integrating AI tools into client-facing work, including contract review, research, and document drafting

5. Develop an "operator mindset" for using AI, shifting from passive user to informed overseer to meet ethical and professional obligations

You can contact Eran Kahan at eran.kahana@maslon.com or via LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/erankahana.