Artificial Intelligence

Advances in technology are changing how law is practiced. Online research databases, digital contracts, expert systems and document automation all help make lawyers’ routine tasks easier and more efficient. All lawyers must make informed decisions about what technology tools to acquire, develop or leverage. While lawyers’ use of technology is not an end unto itself, it is providing a catalyst for the transformation of the legal profession. Moreover, in a world of rapidly advancing technologies, data breaches and increasingly sophisticated uses of artificial intelligence, lawyers are now ethically required to understand the benefits and risks of technology. Intractable barriers to access to justice also remain a perennial concern. This panel discusses new developments in legal technology and ethics, and explores the ways in which technology can scale the provision of legal assistance, as well as examines how new developments in attorney regulation have expanded the definition of who can “practice law.” It also considers, despite people’s strong preference for maintaining the status quo, how understanding and adopting technology tools will optimize lawyers’ abilities to provide services to clients more effectively and efficiently.

Mention “artificial intelligence,” and most people start rolling their eyes and making jokes about Skynet. But today’s A.I. is changing the way that many law firms operate. Rather than replacing lawyers, A.I. is taking over more and more of the grunt work that prevents lawyers from doing the higher-level work that is necessary for their practices — by streamlining case searches, brief-writing and a whole host of tasks you might not even have considered.

The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning is becoming increasingly prevalent in the practice of law. Lawyers are using AI to assist in a multitude of tasks, including document management and review, analytics, and legal research. This program will provide an overview of how AI is being used by lawyers today, the advantages and drawbacks in using AI, and the potential ways in which AI may be used now and in the future in bankruptcy practice.

Join a panel of technology experts as they explore how cutting-edge technology is impacting the practice of law in the bankruptcy sector. Panelists discuss the up-and-coming role of artificial intelligence in legal research and case analysis and issues of cybersecurity. The panelists next shift its focus to a discussion of how blockchain and virtual currency might influence your next case. Do not get left behind; come learn how the future has arrived for bankruptcy practitioners.

As fast-emerging technologies change the way we conceive of how we will practice law in the very near future, ethics rules will need to address this revolution. The panelists will discuss how to keep ahead of these developments and adapt our practices to best understand and address our developing ethical obligations.

Is the legal profession’s vision for the law firm of the future already outdated? Can the law firm of today cope with the incredibly dynamic and changing competitive legal services environment, or will it go the way of the dinosaur? Greater and new competition in the forms of artificial intelligence, disruptive technology, the Big Four accounting firms, enlarged in-house legal staffs, and alternative legal service providers are eating law firms’ lunch. Clients are demanding service, efficiency and transparency in a way that puts tremendous pressure on the traditional law firm model. On top of that, the battle for the best talent is intensifying while the very nature of that talent is transforming as millennials start to dominate the talent pool. Our panel will discuss what a law firm must do to evolve and survive and how it potentially can thrive in a rapidly changing legal market.