My last post on AI focused on simple and practical ways that artificial intelligence can make everyday tasks in the legal field more efficient. In this post, I will give more examples and introduce specific AI tools other than large-language models (LLMs) to utilize in legal practice. While I no longer work in a traditional paralegal role, I am still working in the legal field in a nonprofit with a focus on operations and program management. I look back on the years when I did work as a paralegal and can identify ways that AI could have enhanced my work.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Paralegalshttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngParalegals2025-02-04 11:08:132025-02-04 11:08:13Ethical and Practical Uses of AI for Paralegals: Part 2
Life as a lawyer can be a battle. Clients are demanding. Opposing counsel can be adversarial. And sometimes the greatest burden we carry is the one we put on ourselves: to work harder, be better, and achieve more. Years ago, I learned knowing how to practice law was not enough. In order to thrive – to be not only successful, but happy – a lawyer’s skill set had to include mental focus, and yes, professional vitality.
How do we do that in a profession filled with adversity and risk, where one slip can spell doom, both for your clients and your career? For the answer, indulge me in a lesson I learned from my past career as a journalist.
In the spring of 2016, I spent several weeks at the United States Naval Academy reporting a story about the boxing program there. Boxing is not only embedded in the culture of the Naval Academy, it’s a core requirement: all Midshipmen – male and female – are required to learn to box as soon as they arrive at Annapolis. Why? The Naval Academy uses boxing as a laboratory where they can put students in an environment of controlled stress forcing them to draw on their own resources and capabilities to think, strategize, and plan, all while withstanding an opponent trying to knock you down.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Professional Vitality Committeehttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngProfessional Vitality Committee2025-01-14 13:53:382025-01-14 13:57:30Everybody Has a Plan . . .
Yesterday I had the perfect mediation. This mediation went perfectly because of four factors. The parties and their representatives knew the relevant law, they knew the facts of their cases, they came motived to settle, and they came with flexibility. An added factor was that once the parties talked and became convinced that the other side knew the law, knew the facts, wanted to settle rather than posture and had flexibility, then trust was quickly established between the parties, making the talks proceed even more smoothly and quickly.
We had a set of five related cases between two sets of parties. We worked well together, and in about five hours, reached settlements based on money paid in four of the five cases, and then in a cooperative discussion, agreed that the issues in the last case could best be resolved on terms other than money. We recessed for one side to explore the newly discovered issues and talk to their experts and decision makers to see how we could proceed with accommodating the other side’s concerns.
Ethical and Practical Uses of AI for Paralegals: Part 2
Featured PostsMy last post on AI focused on simple and practical ways that artificial intelligence can make everyday tasks in the legal field more efficient. In this post, I will give more examples and introduce specific AI tools other than large-language models (LLMs) to utilize in legal practice. While I no longer work in a traditional paralegal role, I am still working in the legal field in a nonprofit with a focus on operations and program management. I look back on the years when I did work as a paralegal and can identify ways that AI could have enhanced my work.
Read more
Everybody Has a Plan . . .
Featured PostsLife as a lawyer can be a battle. Clients are demanding. Opposing counsel can be adversarial. And sometimes the greatest burden we carry is the one we put on ourselves: to work harder, be better, and achieve more. Years ago, I learned knowing how to practice law was not enough. In order to thrive – to be not only successful, but happy – a lawyer’s skill set had to include mental focus, and yes, professional vitality.
How do we do that in a profession filled with adversity and risk, where one slip can spell doom, both for your clients and your career? For the answer, indulge me in a lesson I learned from my past career as a journalist.
In the spring of 2016, I spent several weeks at the United States Naval Academy reporting a story about the boxing program there. Boxing is not only embedded in the culture of the Naval Academy, it’s a core requirement: all Midshipmen – male and female – are required to learn to box as soon as they arrive at Annapolis. Why? The Naval Academy uses boxing as a laboratory where they can put students in an environment of controlled stress forcing them to draw on their own resources and capabilities to think, strategize, and plan, all while withstanding an opponent trying to knock you down.
Read more
The Perfect Mediation
Featured PostsYesterday I had the perfect mediation. This mediation went perfectly because of four factors. The parties and their representatives knew the relevant law, they knew the facts of their cases, they came motived to settle, and they came with flexibility. An added factor was that once the parties talked and became convinced that the other side knew the law, knew the facts, wanted to settle rather than posture and had flexibility, then trust was quickly established between the parties, making the talks proceed even more smoothly and quickly.
We had a set of five related cases between two sets of parties. We worked well together, and in about five hours, reached settlements based on money paid in four of the five cases, and then in a cooperative discussion, agreed that the issues in the last case could best be resolved on terms other than money. We recessed for one side to explore the newly discovered issues and talk to their experts and decision makers to see how we could proceed with accommodating the other side’s concerns.
Read more