Here is my recent Daily Record column. My past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.
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AI’s Role in Modern Law Practice Explored by Texas and Minnesota Bars
If you’re not yet convinced that artificial intelligence (AI) will change the practice of law, then you’re not paying attention. If nothing else, the sheer number of state bar ethics opinions and reports focused on AI released within the past two years should be a clear indication that AI’s effects on our profession will be profound.
Just this month, the Texas and Minnesota bar associations stepped into the fray, each issuing reports that studied the issues presented when legal professionals use AI.
First, there was the Texas Taskforce for Responsible AI in the Law’s “Interim Report to the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors,” which addressed the benefits and risks of AI, along with recommendations for the ethical adoption of these tools.
The Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) Assembly’s report, “Implications of Large Language Models (LLMs) on the Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) and Access to Justice,” assessed broader issues related to how AI could potentially impact the provision of legal services within our communities.
Despite the divergence in focus, the reports covered a significant overlap of topics. For example, both reports emphasized the ethical use of AI and the importance of ensuring AI increases rather than reduces access to justice.
However, approaches to both issues differed. While the Texas Taskforce sought to develop guidelines for ethical AI use, the MSBA report suggested that there was no need to reinvent the wheel and that existing ethical guidance issued by other jurisdictions about AI tools like LLMs was likely sufficient to assist Minnesota legal professionals in navigating AI adoption.
There was also a joint focus on access to justice. Both reports included an emphasis on the value of ensuring that AI tools enhance access to justice. The Texas Taskforce highlighted the need to support legal aid providers in obtaining access to AI. At the same time, the MSBA’s Assembly recommended the creation of an “Access to Justice Legal Sandbox” that “would provide a controlled environment for organizations to use LLMs in innovative ways, without the fear of UPL prosecution.”
Overall, the MSBA Assembly’s approach was more exploratory, while the Texas Taskforce’s was more advisory. The MSBA Assembly’s report included recommendations to take more detailed, actionable steps like creating an AI regulatory sandbox, launching pilot projects, and creating a Standing Committee to consider recommendations made in the report. In comparison, the Texas Taskforce identified broader goals such as raising awareness of cybersecurity issues surrounding AI, emphasizing the importance of AI education and CLEs, and proposing AI implementation best practices.
The issuance of these reports on the tails of other bar association guidance represents a significant step forward for the legal profession. While we’ve historically resisted change, we’re now looking forward rather than backward. Bar associations are rising to the challenge during this period of rapid technological advancements and providing lawyers with much-needed, practical guidance and advice designed to help them navigate the ever-changing AI landscape.
While Texas focuses on comprehensive guidelines and educational initiatives, Minnesota’s approach includes regulatory sandboxes and pilot projects. These differing strategies reflect a shared commitment to ensuring AI enhances access to justice and improves the lives of legal professionals. Together, these efforts indicate a profession that is, at long last, willing to adapt and innovate by leveraging emerging technologies to better serve society and uphold justice in an increasingly digital-first age.
Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney, author, journalist, and Principal Legal Insight Strategist at MyCase legal practice management software and LawPay payment processing, 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.