Justia Connect Webinars Generative AI in Legal Work: Exploring Use Case Through an Ethical Lens

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John Rosenthal Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP

Generative AI in Legal Work Exploring Use Case Through an Ethical Lens

Premieres March 22, 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT

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Overview AI Webinar Summary

Generative AI in Legal Work: Exploring Use Case Through an Ethical Lens

This webinar will serve to introduce you to the use of Generative AI in the practice of law with particular focus on a lawyer’s ethical obligation regarding the adoption and use of Gen. AI. Among the topics we will explore:

A basic overview of Gen. AI
Potential risks associated with the use of AI
Use cases for Gen. AI in the practice of law, including an overview of different tools
Ethical implications of the use of Gen. AI, with particular emphasis on ABA Opinion 512
A discussion of best practices regarding the use of Gen. AI

Topics covered include:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Legal Ethics Legal Tech

Agenda:

Brief Introduction to Generative AI

Background on how Generative AI foundational models operate
Overview of training process used to train a Generative AI model
Use of RAG as a process to further train and fine tune the model
Application interfaces for niche or industry specific use cases

Risks Associated with Generative AI

Inherent risks associated with Generative AI to include:

Inaccuracy
Hallucinations
Privacy risks
Copyright infringement
Bias

Ways that developers are attempting to mitigate these risks

Adoption and Use of Generative AI in Legal Industry

Overview of the rate of adoption within the legal industry
Review of the various use cases and applications currently available (e.g., Harvey, Thompson Reuters, LexisAI, Contract Ken, Clearbrief)
Deeper dive associated with e-discovery tools used in litigation (e.g., Relativity, Everlaw, Reveal)

Ethical Obligation Regarding the Use of Gen AI, including an overview of ABA Opinion 512

Overview of Ethical and Judicial Responses to adoption of Generative AI
Review of ABA Opinion 512 – the model upon which most states are creating their Professional Rules regarding the use of Generative AI
Review of specific Rules relating to Generative AI: duty of competence, duty of confidentiality; duty of supervision; duty to inform clients; obligations regarding disclosure of fees and expenses

Best Practices Regarding Adoption

Overview regarding best practices concerning adoption of Generative AI within law firms and in-house legal departments.
Lessons learned to date

Questions & Answers (as time permits)

Duration of this webinar: 60 minutes

When: Premieres in 6 days | March 22, 2026 10:00 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 Introduction

The webinar introduces John Rosenthal, a litigation partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, who will discuss generative AI in legal work through an ethical lens. The use of generative AI tools like Microsoft Office 365 Copilot and ChatGPT is increasing among law firms, raising ethical concerns. Some firms are using these tools without client consent, potentially exposing privileged information and trade secrets. The webinar aims to explore the unfolding ethical issues related to generative AI in the legal field.

05:33 Generative AI and Its Impact

Generative AI is described as a transformative technology that will significantly affect the legal industry. The introduction of ChatGPT-3 in November 2023 marked a pivotal change in AI technology, enabling the generation of new content rather than just retrieving known data. Generative AI differs from traditional AI by creating new outputs based on data patterns, which has ethical implications for lawyers. The technology allows for natural language interaction, making it accessible to non-experts and expanding its potential applications. Understanding the unique aspects of generative AI is crucial for recognizing its risks and ethical challenges in legal practice.

11:22 Technical Aspects of Generative AI

Generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT predict the next likely word based on vast amounts of internet data, using probability calculations and training. There are two types of training for these models: supervised training by humans and extensive computer training to refine outputs. Despite training, issues like hallucinations, inaccuracies, and bias persist, posing ethical challenges. Models can produce different answers to the same query and may generate false information, affecting legal outcomes. Bias is inherent in AI models trained on internet data, affecting predictive outcomes and raising concerns about manipulation. The judiciary is concerned about deep fakes and false information generated by AI, prompting examination by the federal rules committee on evidence. Generative AI poses risks related to defamation, copyright, and consumer protection.

19:17 Legal Applications and Use Cases

Legal-specific applications of generative AI involve tailoring foundational models for industry-specific tasks, such as legal research, document drafting, document review, and predictive analytics. Agentic AI represents the next step, allowing for task-specific workflows and reducing the need for prompt engineering. Generalized tools like Copilot and Gemini can perform legal tasks but carry higher risks without legal-specific training. Legal-specific tools like Harvey AI and LexisNexis focus on research and drafting. The maturity continuum of AI technology suggests that tools will become more sophisticated and reliable over time.

36:38 Ethical Concerns

Ethical considerations are paramount, with the American Bar Association's Opinion 512 addressing obligations around generative AI use. Key ethical issues include competence, confidentiality, transparency, independent validation, and informed consent. Courts are moving towards requiring disclosure and validation when using AI in legal proceedings, rather than outright bans. The duty of competence requires lawyers to understand electronic information and AI tools to fulfill their professional obligations. Confidentiality concerns arise with public AI engines, necessitating careful consideration of data security and client information protection.

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

John Rosenthal Partner
Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP

John Rosenthal is a litigation partner in the firm's Washington, D.C. office who represents clients around the globe in an array of complex litigation matters, class action and multidistrict litigation. He also has substantial experience defending clients before federal and state enforcement agencies. His substantive focus includes business litigation, products liability, unfair competition, and false advertising. Read More ›

Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credits

* CLE credit for this webinar is available for lawyers who have claimed their Justia Lawyer Directory Profile and are Justia Connect Practice members attending live. On-demand CLE credit is only available to Justia Connect Pros.

Alabama CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Ethics

Earn Credit Until: December 31, 2026

California CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Technology in the Practice of Law

Earn Credit Until: June 30, 2026

Hawaii CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Ethics

Earn Credit Until: January 21, 2028

Illinois CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Professional Responsibility

Earn Credit Until: January 21, 2028

Missouri CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.20 Ethics

Earn Credit: March 22, 2026 – March 22, 2026

Nebraska CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Professional Responsibility

Earn Credit Until: January 22, 2028

New Jersey CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.20 Ethics/Professionalism

Earn Credit Until: January 21, 2027

Ohio CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Attorney Professional Conduct

Earn Credit Until: December 31, 2026

Pennsylvania CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Ethics, Professionalism, or Substance Abuse

Earn Credit Until: January 21, 2028

South Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility

Difficulty: All Levels

Earn Credit Until: December 31, 2026

Texas CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility

Earn Credit Until: December 31, 2026

West Virginia CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.20 Legal Ethics, etc.

Earn Credit Until: December 31, 2029

This presentation is approved for one hour of Ethics CLE credit in Alabama, one hour of Technology in the Practice of Law CLE credit in California, one hour of Ethics CLE credit in Hawaii, one hour of Professional Responsibility CLE credit in Illinois, one hour of Professional Responsibility CLE credit in Nebraska, one hour of Attorney Professional Conduct CLE credit in Ohio, one hour of Ethics, Professionalism, or Substance Abuse CLE credit in Pennsylvania, one hour of Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility CLE credit in South Carolina (all levels), and one hour of Legal Ethics, etc. CLE credit in West Virginia. This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 1.20 hours of total CLE credit. Of these, 1.20 qualify as total hours of credit for Ethics/Professionalism. This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 1.00 credit hours, of which 1.00 credit hours will apply to Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility credit.
This presentation is approved for one hour of Ethics CLE credit in Missouri from 2026-03-22 to 2026-03-22.

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