Consumer vs. Professional AI For Lawyers: What Actually Matters
AI hallucinations keep showing up in briefs and emails. You've seen the stories, and maybe the fallout. The issue isn't "AI is bad." It's using the wrong tool for client work.
If you want clarity on what's safe, what's risky, and how to use AI without stepping on an ethics mine, block your calendar for a CLE-eligible webinar on November 4 at 1 p.m. ET. You'll leave with practical checkpoints and a cleaner playbook for daily use.
What This CLE Will Cover
- Real differences between professional tools like Thomson Reuters' CoCounsel Legal and consumer AI products
- Ethical risks of using consumer AI tools on client matters
- Concrete ways to reduce AI hallucinations and verify outputs
- How to talk with clients about responsible AI use
- How tools like CoCounsel Legal are changing legal workflows today
- Where legal AI is headed next
Why Consumer AI Trips Up Lawyers
- It's built for general use, not legal accuracy. Expect confident guesses and thin sources.
- Few guardrails around citations, provenance, or jurisdiction. That's how fake cases sneak in.
- Privacy and privilege risk. Public or unclear data policies can create disclosure issues.
- No audit trail. Harder to show diligence if challenged.
What Legal-Specific Tools Do Differently
- Grounded answers. Retrieval from licensed, vetted legal content with citations you can check.
- Security and access controls. Enterprise-grade privacy, logs, and admin oversight.
- Workflow fit. Drafting, research, transcript review, and document analysis built for actual casework.
- Explainability. Source links, version history, and exportable work product for your file.
Ethics: The Baseline You Can't Skip
AI doesn't remove your duties. It raises the bar on how you meet them.
- Competence: Know the tech well enough to supervise it and verify outputs. See ABA Model Rule 1.1.
- Confidentiality: Protect client data, assess vendors, and control access. See ABA Model Rule 1.6.
- Supervision: Treat AI like a junior-review, correct, and document your oversight.
A Practical Checklist Before You Hit "Run"
- Define the task and jurisdiction. Give the model constraints and the sources it should use.
- Keep client data in secure, enterprise environments. Turn off training on your inputs.
- Force citations. Reject outputs without pin cites or accessible sources.
- Cross-check. Sample facts, authorities, and quotes against your library or a second source.
- Log your process. Tool used, version, prompts, settings, and verification steps.
Talking With Clients About AI
- Be transparent: where AI assists (summaries, first drafts, document review) and where human judgment decides.
- Explain safeguards: private deployments, confidentiality controls, and attorney review.
- Set expectations: AI speeds routine work; quality and responsibility stay with the firm.
How This Changes Your Daily Work
- Faster first drafts with better starting points, especially on standard motions and contracts.
- Quicker issue spotting in large records and transcripts.
- More time for strategy, negotiation, and client counseling-the parts only you can do.
Join The CLE On November 4 At 1 p.m. ET
If you're weighing consumer tools against legal-specific platforms, this session will make the differences clear. Expect practical demos, concrete policies you can adopt, and realistic guidance on reducing hallucinations without slowing your team down.
Registration details are available through the event organizer. Save the time, bring your questions, and leave with a cleaner AI policy.
Want Extra Training For Your Team?
If your associates need a baseline on prompts, verification, and AI habits that hold up under scrutiny, explore curated options by role here: AI courses by job. You can also scan the newest releases: Latest AI courses.
Your membership also unlocks:
