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AI for Lawyers & Law Students: If It’s Faster, Why Does It Take Longer?

This program returns to the law school method — applying artificial intelligence in legal practice and law school. Designed for both lawyers and law students, this program examines what AI is not, AI terminology, key legal terms, how it is used, and where ethical and academic risk arise. While AI tools are increasingly common in legal education and professional practice, important questions are being raised about authorship, corporate compliance, and professional responsibility, with respect to governing rules.

Topics include:

What AI is — and what it is not
Proper and improper use under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct
Disclosure vs nondisclosure in legal practice
The limits of AI detection tools
Legal risk of overreliance in both law school and legal work

Duration of this webinar: 75 minutes

Originally broadcast: August 7, 2026 11:00 AM PT

Webinar Highlights

This webinar is divided into section summaries, which you can scan for key points and then dive into the sections that interest you the most.

00:00 AI in Legal Practice and Education

Tracy Sanders Rucker, the speaker, explains the AI productivity paradox, where AI can sometimes take longer due to verification needs. The discussion includes ethical guardrails, focusing on ABA Model Rules 1.1 to 8.4, and the importance of ethical responsibility from law school onward. Tracy introduces a case study, Thaler v. Perlmutter, to illustrate AI's limitations in legal practice. She encourages participants to research the case and Professor John Land's work on AI productivity.

14:02 Ethical Considerations and AI Risks

Tracy discusses the importance of confidentiality and the need for agreements like NDAs when working with AI vendors. She highlights the issue of AI hallucinations, where AI generates incorrect information, stressing the need for human verification. The session covers the legal status of authorship, emphasizing that AI cannot hold copyrights or be a lawyer of record. Tracy warns against unreported AI use, which can lead to professional misconduct under ethical rules. She introduces the Ropes & Gray AI court order tracker as a resource for understanding AI rules in legal practice.

32:23 AI Tools and Verification Processes

Tracy dispels myths about AI, emphasizing that it is not an accountable actor and cannot replace human legal authorship. The Thaler v. Perlmutter case is used to illustrate that AI cannot be recognized as an author under copyright law. Tracy discusses the productivity paradox, where AI's speed is offset by the need for thorough verification. She advises law students and lawyers to allocate time for verification to ensure ethical and accurate use of AI.

52:07 Concluding Takeaways

Tracy points out that using AI tools without understanding their limitations could be considered professional incompetence. She discusses the importance of maintaining confidentiality and the risks of using public Wi-Fi for client work. The session covers the duty of candor towards the tribunal and the need for verification to prevent AI-related errors. Tracy stresses personal accountability and the importance of not blaming AI or third-party vendors for errors.

Please note this AI-generated summary provides a general overview of the webinar but may not capture all details, nuances, or the exact words of the speaker. For complete accuracy, please refer to the original webinar recording.

Speaker

Tracy Sanders Rucker, Esq. Attorney & Author
Natural Hair and The Law

Tracy Sanders Rucker, Esq. is an attorney, author, and national continuing legal education faculty member focused on civil rights, education law, immigration law, and higher education law. She is the founder of Natural Hair and the Law, author of Natural Hair in the Workplace: What Are Your Rights?, and The CROWN Act Handbook. She presented at Yale University, Sandra Day O'Connor Arizona State University College of Law, Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Loyola Law School, and University of the Pacific. Read More ›

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