Expert Analysis

• Bridging The Legal Tech Talent Gap With Apprenticeships

  Many law firms and legal departments struggle to find employees with both legal knowledge and an understanding of technology applications in legal workflows, so solving this talent shortage requires considering untraditional options — like apprenticeship programs, says Jennifer Walker at ProSearch and Daniel Villao at Intelligent Partnerships.

• Talking Mental Health: Working As A Mom Of An Autistic Son

  Sarah Kovit Hanna at Assurant discusses how she balances the demands of her in-house role and the support needs of her son, who was diagnosed with autism, as a single mom, and reflects on how the legal industry can better support caretakers of family members who have special needs.

• A New Standard For Ethically Bringing AI Into Legal Practice

  Legal professionals' hesitance to fully embrace artificial intelligence reflects ongoing concerns about accuracy, bias and client confidentiality — but new standards like ISO/IEC 42001 can help law firms implement AI responsibly, benefiting from its advantages while bolstering stakeholder confidence, says Danny Manimbo at Schellman.

• Talking Mental Health: The View From Life After BigLaw

  Life coach and author Wendy Tamis Robbins discusses why she left a career in BigLaw to work in the professional well-being space after finding freedom from anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance use disorders, and highlights two changes the legal industry should implement to address attorneys' mental health.

• How 2 Litigators Decided Dad Would Stay Home With The Kids

  Jennifer Hoekstra at Aylstock Witkin shares the tough conversations about timing, goals, logistics and values involved in her family's decision that she would build her career as a litigator and law firm partner while her husband stepped back from his own litigation role to stay home with their children.

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  Legal Tech Talks: DraftWise CEO On Barriers To Adoption

  James Ding, CEO and co-founder of DraftWise, discusses misconceptions attorneys often have about working with new technologies, including that software will replace jobs, and the importance of preparing for additional regulations as governing bodies develop a better understanding of artificial intelligence.

• Talking Mental Health: Managing Depression As A Co. Founder

  New Era ADR co-founder Collin Williams discusses his journey navigating a clinical depression diagnosis, how this experience affected his leadership style, and what the legal industry can do to better support attorneys with mental health conditions.

• The Winners And Losers Of AI In The Legal Services Industry

  Artificial intelligence in the legal services industry will unlikely eradicate law firms, but it will still undoubtedly test their resilience — especially big firms, says Santiago Rodríguez at Arias SLP.

• The Last Lawyer: The Evolution And Ethics Of Legal AI Tools

  Chatbots represent a powerful but provisional tool, but lawyers must exercise caution and use only vetted, properly guardrailed silicon advocates, scalable for future services, say Marty Robles-Avila at Berry Appleman and Michele Carney at Carney & Marchi.

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  Talking Mental Health: Tackling Stress As A Practice Leader

  Constance Rhebergen at Bracewell discusses how she handles the stress of being a practice chair, how sources of stress have changed in the legal industry over the past decade and what law firms can do to protect attorney mental health.

• Legal Tech And Lawyer Workflow: Enhancing, Not Replacing

  When selecting from an increasing pool of legal technology capabilities, think about micro moves with macro effect, as the most successful tools will be those that feel like a natural extension of how lawyers are already accustomed to working, says Ilona Logvinova at Cleary.

• How Firms Can Effectively Evaluate Their Summer Associates

  One of the most effective ways firms can ensure their summer associate programs are a success is by engaging in a timely and meaningful evaluation process and being intentional about when, how and by whom feedback should be provided, say Caroline Cimei and Erica Fine at Shutts & Bowen.

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  Talking Mental Health: Life As A Lawyer With OCD

  Kelly Hughes at Ogletree discusses what she’s learned in the 14 years since she was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, recounting how the experience shaped her law practice, what the legal industry and general public get wrong about the disorder, and how law firms can better support employees who have OCD.

• 'Blind Spots' Pose Major Hurdle To AI Adoption In Legal Tech

  Legal tech circles have been focused on how to eliminate large language model hallucinations, but blind spots, or inaccuracies through omissions, are a rarely discussed shortcoming that pose an even larger risk in the legal space, says James Ding at DraftWise.

• 3 Innovative Ways AI May Be Used In Legal Practice

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly be used by outside counsel to better predict the outcomes of litigation — thus informing legal strategy with greater precision — and by clients to scrutinize invoices and evaluate counsel’s performance, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.