AI can produce a legal memo in minutes. Reviewing it, checking its accuracy, and deciding what the client needs to know still require a lawyer's judgment.

In this episode of Legal Soundings, Harbor’s Justin Hectus talks with Lauren Cappell, Founder & Principal of Applied AI Consulting, and Memme Onwudiwe, AI Evangelist at Workday, about where lawyers fit when AI produces the first draft.

Drawing on experience in legal practice, technology development, and legal education, Lauren and Memme discuss how lawyers will develop expertise, what clients will expect from their law firms, and how much more a small law department can handle.

What we cover:

• The hidden cost of making legal work easier to produce
• What it takes to verify an AI-generated answer, and how to judge when it is good enough
• How a two-person law department doubled its contract volume with the same team
• Whether law firms will remain the main training ground for new lawyers, and why junior lawyers may take on substantive work earlier
• What clients may expect from outside counsel as AI becomes routine
• Why law departments may be measuring AI success in the wrong places

Listen to the full episode on

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• YouTube

Key moments:

• 04:25 – Lauren on the growing burden of reviewing AI-generated work
• 08:43 – What it takes to verify AI-generated legal advice
• 12:13 – Memme on alternative paths for training young lawyers
• 18:28 – Testing legal AI beyond the polished demo
• 27:52 – Accountability when AI contributes to legal work