Here is my recent Daily Record column. My past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.
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Florida Bar Releases Handy Generative AI Guide for Lawyers
One of the most common questions I hear from lawyers about generative artificial intelligence (AI) is “Where do I start?” The pace of change since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022 has been dramatic—so much so that tracking the latest GAI developments can feel like a full-time job.
If you haven’t prioritized AI education, then getting up to speed can be a challenge. And even then, once you wrap your head around the basic concepts, there’s still a long way to go. You’ll need to determine your firm’s needs, learn about the different types of tools available, and understand ethical compliance issues.
Armed with that knowledge, the next steps are to research and vet providers–including the tools your firm is already using that may have embedded GAI–and then choose and implement the tools that will work best for your firm. After that, firmwide education and training should follow.
It’s a lot to think about, isn’t it? No wonder so many lawyers feel overwhelmed.
Fortunately, bar associations have risen to the occasion, regularly issuing ethics opinions and AI guidance over the past two years. A notable and very recent example is the “Florida Bar Guide to Getting Started with AI.” It provides a user-friendly, broad overview of AI and generative AI and includes definitions, explanations of the technologies, an analysis of ethical issues, implementation advice, practical resources, and much more.
Notably, the authors emphasize the importance of technology competence and making educated decisions about adopting legal technology, including AI: “Each lawyer should explore and make the decision whether to use AI or not based on their individual practices and circumstances, being mindful of applicable ethical rules as well as any unique risks from using particular AI models.”
The authors also highlight the differences between different AI tools and explain how legal-specific AI tools reduce errors in output by training on highly relevant legal data: “There are general and law-specific AI models. General models are trained on large sets of human-created data, while legal models take a general model and fine-tune it using law-specific data, such as court opinions, law review articles and example documents. Legal models usually have constraints on the sources of information they use in creating their responses, which are intended to reduce hallucination risk.”
As with any technology, carefully vetting the vendor and its product is essential when choosing an AI provider: “When you find a general AI vendor you like, check its security reputation, hallucination risk, various AI model features, and paid plan options for individuals or businesses.”
An important takeaway from the guide is that the current state of technology requires that all responses be carefully reviewed to identify any errors: “(A)lways verify AI-generated outputs yourself to ensure accuracy and reliability, as AI should assist, not replace, human judgment.”
Supervisory responsibilities are also called out, with an emphasis on the need to ensure internal firm guidance and procedures are in place before implementing AI tools: “(I)f associates or nonlawyers will be using AI in your firm, consider a user training program and written guidelines for proper AI usage for client matters.”
Finally, examples of use cases for both general and legal-specific AI are provided. The authors explain that general AI software could be used to draft administrative letters or marketing articles, generate summaries of non-legal documents, and customize presentations. Work that can be completed using task-appropriate legal AI tools includes legal research, document review, document drafting, case preparation, and electronic discovery.
If you’re one of those lawyers who isn’t sure how to get started with GAI, the Florida Bar’s guide is an ideal resource. It breaks down the basics, explains key ethical considerations, and offers practical advice for choosing and implementing AI tools. Staying informed and proactive is essential, and this guide gives you the knowledge and tools you need to approach AI confidently and responsibly.
Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney, author, journalist, and Principal Legal Insight Strategist at MyCase, CASEpeer, Docketwise, and LawPay, practice management and payment processing tools for lawyers (AffiniPay companies). She is the nationally-recognized author of “Cloud Computing for Lawyers” (2012) and co-authors “Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier” (2010), both published by the American Bar Association. She also co-authors “Criminal Law in New York,” a Thomson Reuters treatise. She writes regular columns for Above the Law, ABA Journal, and The Daily Record, has authored hundreds of articles for other publications, and regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law and emerging technologies. She is an ABA Legal Rebel, and is listed on the Fastcase 50 and ABA LTRC Women in Legal Tech. She can be contacted at niki.black@mycase.com.