The AI-Powered Attorney: Mastering Large Language Models, Legal AI Tools, and the Ethical Minefield

This program will discuss the practical application of AI, specifically large language models (LLMs) and AI-powered legal tools, in the daily operations of a law practice. Topics will include how LLMs generate output, how to prompt them effectively for legal tasks, how to evaluate and select AI tools for practice, and how to identify the risks and limitations that every attorney must understand before deploying these technologies.

This program will benefit solo practitioners, small firm attorneys, and in-house counsel who are looking to integrate AI tools into their workflows while remaining compliant with applicable rules of professional conduct, including duties of competence, confidentiality, and supervision.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Identify the core mechanics of large language models and explain how that knowledge should inform an attorney's use of AI-generated work product 

2. Evaluate AI-powered legal tools against practical and ethical criteria to determine which are appropriate for specific practice areas and client matters 

3. Apply effective prompting strategies to produce higher-quality, more reliable output for legal research, drafting, and client communication tasks 

4. Recognize the ethical obligations implicated by AI use in legal practice, including competence under Rule 1.1, confidentiality under Rule 1.6, and supervisory duties under Rules 5.1 and 5.3 

5. Develop a risk-management framework for implementing AI in a law firm, including policies for review, disclosure, and quality control