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Gordon Calhoun Pens Commentary for Legaltech News on AI in The Legal Industry

San Francisco, Calif. (January 4, 2024) – San Francisco Partner Gordon J. Calhoun recently authored a commentary for Legaltech News (part of Law.com) titled, “Reflections On a 45-Year Legal Career and Advice for Navigating AI in Law.” The article discusses the opportunities and challenges that generative AI (GenAI) presents as well as how legal professionals may maximize its potential. 

Mr. Calhoun opens the article by reflecting on how, throughout his 45-year legal career, various forms of technology have had a “transformative influence” on the legal industry, with GenAI being the latest. He observes, “The advent of GenAI brings our industry to a crossroads. It is both solving our most pressing challenges, freeing us from the boring and minimally productive, providing powerful insights, and requiring us to look closer at the way we work and how to use data responsibly.” 

Next, Mr. Calhoun describes the central benefits of GenAI. First, he explains how the technology “accelerates the process of understanding” material and allows attorneys to use documents effectively for the clients’ benefit. Mr. Calhoun notes, “GenAI, by expediting knowledge extraction from data, empowers young attorneys to swiftly grasp evidence and glean meaningful insights.” He posits that this process may lead to attorneys’ “rapid professional growth” and ultimately may “enhance value, job satisfaction, reduce turnover, and hasten the acquisition of business generation skills.” In addition, Mr. Calhoun details how attorneys’ ability to “master vast data” by using AI may lead to a greater likelihood of resolving matters on their merits as opposed to reaching compromises due to prohibitive costs. He describes, “Shifting data aggregation to machines streamlines processes, making transaction consummation and dispute resolution more affordable and predictable.” 

The author goes on to explain the new skills that attorneys will need to acquire so that they may use GenAI in an ethical and responsible manner. Mr. Calhoun then closes the article by encouraging members of the legal profession to “to embrace” GenAI. He writes, “We humans make the legal industry’s future possible, and we have the responsibility not only to embrace and leverage innovation to do better, more meaningful work, but to ensure that the tenets of our legal system—including trust, transparency, privacy, and security—remain foundational.” 

Mr. Calhoun serves as chair of Lewis Brisbois’ Electronic Discovery, Information Management & Compliance Practice. He represents individuals, partnerships, corporations, and other business entities in litigation. He also counsels them on a broad variety of business, regulatory, and risk and information management protocols, including data breach responses and compliance practices. 

Read the full Legaltech article here (subscription may be required). 

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