The American Bar Association has created a task force that has been charged with providing thought leadership about the benefits and risks of AI for the legal profession.
The ABA Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence will examine how the emerging technology is impacting the practice of law, as well as the ethical implications for lawyers.
Other broad areas of interest for the panel include AI governance, generative AI, using AI to increase access to justice and AI in legal education, according to an ABA press release issued Aug. 28.
“The American Bar Association and the legal profession have always lifted their voices to lead and chart the future,” ABA President Mary Smith said in a statement. “At a time when both private and public sector organizations are moving rapidly to develop and use artificial intelligence, we are called again to lead to address both the promise and the peril of emerging technologies.”
In a video posted on the task force’s website, Smith said the panel would work to identify “best practices for AI as a productive tool for legal practice and ensure AI is used in a trustworthy, responsible and ethical manner.”
Additionally, the panel will publish practical information on a regular basis to help lawyers stay abreast of the latest AI developments.
The ABA’s announcement comes amid strong legal industry interest in emerging AI technology such as ChatGPT, with more than half of in-house legal professionals voicing support for using generative AI for legal work.
Along those lines, three in five corporate counsel across several countries expect their outside law firms to use the latest AI.
The risks associated with AI tools, including data privacy and IP issues, have also drawn close scrutiny.
Leadership
The ABA’s AI task force will be chaired by Lucy Thomson, an attorney and cybersecurity engineer based in Washington, D.C.
Thomson is a past chair of the ABA Science & Technology Law Section and a founding member of the ABA Cybersecurity Legal Task Force.
“Lucy’s knowledge of the legal and technical issues in complex emerging technologies, her law enforcement, private sector, and government experience addressing challenging cybersecurity and privacy issues, and her record as a proven ABA leader all make her an outstanding choice to lead this critical work,” Smith said.
The vice chairs of the AI Task Force are Cynthia Cwik, Laura Possessky and James Sandman.
Special advisors
The task force also includes an advisory council and special advisors who are thought leaders in the law and technology.
The special advisors include Seth Waxman, former U.S. solicitor general; Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Michelle Lee, former undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Other advisors will be Miriam Vogel, chair of the National AI Advisory Committee, and Ivan Fong, former general counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“The work of the ABA AI Task Force is critical to identifying solutions to AI risks – from countering the creation and spread of disinformation, to protecting privacy in AI development, to guarding against security threats from use of AI in informational warfare,” Chertoff said in a prepared statement.
