Prof. Nicholas Bednar ’16, David Cleveland, Allan Erbsen, and Daniel Schwarcz Co-Author Article for National Law Review About AI and the Practice of Law

Professors Nicholas Bednar ’16, David Cleveland, Allan Erbsen, and Daniel Schwarcz co-authored an article for National Law Review about how generative AI systems could fundamentally reshape the practice of law. They said a common concern with the reliance on AI is the eroding of human legal reasoning and professional judgment. The professors conducted a study to determine whether this concern was based on intuition rather than evidence. Regarding the results of their study, the professors wrote, “Taken together, our results point toward practical guidance for lawyers seeking to capture AI’s benefits while minimizing risks. Lawyers and law students should use AI primarily for tasks where they can independently assess, explain, and build on the output. They should confine AI use to narrow, well-defined components of a project rather than delegating entire assignments. Lastly, lawyers and law students should not rely on AI when working under severe time pressure or cognitive fatigue, conditions that increase the likelihood that AI substitutes for careful analysis rather than supporting it.”