What is family law AI?
Family law AI refers to artificial intelligence tools designed to help attorneys and legal staff automate, accelerate, and enhance work across divorce, custody, support, and related matters. These tools support solo practitioners and small to mid-sized firms alike by reducing administrative overhead, boosting workflow productivity, and strengthening case outcomes.
Common…

What criminal defense AI actually means
Criminal defense AI refers to the use of artificial intelligence tools to support core defense workflows. They can transcribe and search audio and video evidence, summarize discovery materials and other documents, draft motions, build timelines, analyze plea offers, and assist with sentencing memos. In practice, this means turning…

The reality of wrongful conviction cases
The National Registry of Exonerations has documented nearly 4,000 wrongful convictions in the United States since 1989. That figure includes only cases that resulted in exoneration.
The early wave of innocence work was anchored in DNA. Test the evidence, get a result that points elsewhere, bring the person home.…

You’re using AI. Why isn’t it paying off?
Our 2026 report calls it the “efficiency paradox,” and most solo practitioners and small firms are living with it. Ask about AI itself and you’ll hear that it’s improved the quality of the work, cut down the tedious parts of the day, and helped them get back…

What Berkeley Law’s AI policy prohibits, and what it allows
Berkeley didn’t ban AI. As a matter of policy, it made the use of AI prohibited as a default rule for almost every part of a student’s substantive work. Here’s the rule itself:
“The use of AI is prohibited for aid in conceptualizing, outlining, drafting,…

Why law firms need secure document shredding
Law firms handle some of the most sensitive information in any profession, including personally identifiable information (PII), financial records, medical details, and privileged communications. Protecting this information is a fundamental ethical and professional obligation. When physical documents are no longer needed, they must be disposed of securely. 
But…

What is an MSO law firm structure, exactly?
An MSO law firm consists of  a split-entity structure designed to work around a state’s RPC Rule 5.4’s prohibition on nonlawyer ownership of law firms. In the typical law firm MSO structure, the attorneys retain full ownership of the legal practice: the entity that holds client engagements,…

Why traditional law firm performance reviews fall short
Annual performance reviews can be stale, vague, and a surprise to staff. Part of the problem comes down to cadence. Most law firm performance reviews still revolve around a single annual conversation, but performance doesn’t operate on a once-a-year timeline.
In many firms, six or even 12…

Solo and small law firm AI adoption: Why revenue gains are lagging
Day-to-day, the picture in most smaller firms is encouraging. The 2026 Legal Trends for Solo and Small …

The real cost of turnover in mid-sized law firms
The most difficult reality of law firm attrition is that it’s expensive. The American Bar Association estimates that employee turnover costs law firms between $200,000 and $500,000 per lawyer. That’s taking into account recruiting fees, onboarding, lost billable hours during transition, disrupted client relationships, and…

What AI hallucinations in law actually are
In a legal context, AI hallucinations are one of two things. They’re either citations to cases or statutes that don’t exist, or citations to real authorities for propositions those authorities don’t actually support.
The first kind is the one making headlines. A lawyer or pro se litigant uses…

On the surface, AI adoption is high and firms are thriving
Mid-sized law firms appear to be ahead on AI maturity. Most have gone beyond simply trying out the technology; instead, they’ve taken a more deliberate, structured approach, with 60% establishing formal AI policies, and 38% actively encouraging staff to use AI in their…