On May 23rd, the American Bar Association hosted a panel presentation on Capitol Hill titled AI in the Legal Profession: Crash Course for Congress. The event was cosponsored by the ABA Governmental Affairs Office, the ABA Cybersecurity Legal Task Force, and the ABA Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence with the ABA Center for Innovation.
During the event, six distinguished legal scholars with expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, data privacy, and national security briefed congressional staffers and DC area attorneys about AI in the legal profession and what Congress needs to know. The panel discussion was aimed at assisting Congress as it seeks to develop federal legislation to ensure the U.S. will continue to maintain and defend its position as the most innovative and industrious country in the world while preserving cherished American liberties.
The expert panel included Gage Javier, Associate at Crowell & Moring; The Honorable Paul Grimm, retired United States District Judge for the District of Maryland; Ted Claypoole, Partner and leader of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP’s IP Transactions and FinTech Teams; Aaron Cummings, Co-Chair of the Government Affairs Group and former Chief of Staff of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA); Cheryl Mason, former CEO/Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals at the VA; and Harvey Rishikof, Director of Policy and Cyber Security Research and Visiting Research Professor at University of Maryland Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS).
The speakers offered a detailed explanation of AI and its current and potential future applications, as well as the benefits and risks of using AI, especially in the legal profession. The panelists also posed questions for Congress to consider while crafting federal legislation that will spur further AI innovation while also erecting proper guardrails. At the conclusion of the panel discussion, moderator Gage Javier also asked Capitol Hill staffers to suggest topics for future panels so that the ABA can continue to be a valuable resource and partner.
The ABA is thankful to the speakers for taking the time to participate in this important conversation and looks forward to more events in the future. In addition to this panel discussion, the ABA also offers other live events, webinars, podcasts, articles, and more that are constantly being updated with new content covering the AI space.