How Senior Lawyers Can Use AI to Streamline Publications

As senior lawyers transition into retirement, they often seek ways to remain connected to the legal field, continuing to contribute their wealth of knowledge and experience. There are many ways to go about doing this, for example:

• Pro Bono Work
• Mediation and Arbitration
• Legal Education
• Writing and Publishing
• Consulting
• Legal Research & Policy Work
• Mentorship Programs

These are just a few ideas on how lawyers can stay connected to the legal profession and continue making valuable community contributions. This month, the AI column will focus on how Artificial Intelligence offers a suite of tools that can help retired legal professionals stay engaged through writing and publishing.

The Role of AI in Writing and Publishing

Writing and publishing can be a form of continuous learning and professional growth. It allows you to stay engaged with the field and contribute meaningfully. Your writing can serve as a mentorship tool, guiding and inspiring younger lawyers. It also helps build a legacy and share knowledge with future generations. There are several ways AI can offer significant assistance when it comes to writing and publishing.

First, it is of utmost importance that you do not have AI do the writing part for you. No matter what you write about, your real-world experience brings a level of nuance and understanding that AI cannot replicate. You have a unique perspective and voice that adds authenticity and credibility to the topic. Even though AI can provide an abundance of information, it is not always accurate or up to date. For example, if you ask ChatGPT-4o to identify AI-powered legal research tools with a description about them and how they are unique, you may find some or all of the suggestions are defunct or sold off and operating under a different name. Also, personal anecdotes, case studies, and client stories can make content more engaging and relatable.

Use AI to Get Started Writing

You may find it helpful to use AI for topic ideas or an initial outline of areas you should cover on a particular topic. You can then fine-tune these suggestions with your expertise or personal touch. You can use AI to identify hot topics and emerging issues in the legal field. Here are some suggestions on how you can use AI for writing topic ideas:

• Use a tool like ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot and ask for hot topics or legal trends in a certain area of law.
• Use the Keyword Planner in Google Ads to identify topics in that area of law that people search for frequently. For example, if I suggest keywords like “elder law practice,” “elder law issues,” and “guardianship,” Google Ads indicates a high incidence of searches for keywords like:
  • Legal guardianship for adults with disabilities
  • Temporary guardianship agreements
  • Medicaid planning
  • Transferring guardianship
• Try setting up a Google Alert to see when a topic in your area of interest is in demand. Google Alert sends email notifications whenever it comes across new content that matches your search terms. Start by setting up a Google account if you do not already have one. Then identify keywords and phrases relative to your interests and areas of expertise. You can then create an alert for those terms. You can also specify the frequency you would like to receive alerts (e.g., as-it-happens, once a day, or once a week), the type of sources you would like searched (news, blogs, web, video), and specify the language and region if you want to focus on a specific area.

Once you have potential topics identified, you may want to ask ChatGPT or Copilot to outline an article (you can include how many words so it knows how in-depth you would like to be) or a book on the topic with any parameters. To build from our example above, you may ask it to generate an outline for a 1500-word article for lawyers that focuses on legal guardianship for adults with disabilities. Now you have a roadmap to get you started on your writing adventure. 

Enhance Your Writing with AI

AI tools can significantly enhance the quality and efficiency of your writing. These tools provide real-time feedback and enhance your ability to produce high-quality content without the exhaustive manual effort traditionally required.

AI Tools for Legal Writing

• Grammarly: While primarily known for grammar checking, Grammarly’s AI algorithms also offer suggestions to improve writing style, tone, and readability. This ensures that your writing is free of common errors, making it more professional. It can help make your writing clearer and easier to read, and help you maintain a consistent style and tone.
• WordRake: This editing software specifically targets legal writing, providing suggestions to eliminate unnecessary words and improve conciseness. It helps you eliminate jargon and verbose language, making your writing more straightforward.
• Microsoft Editor: This is an AI-powered service that helps bring out your best writer. With a Microsoft 365 subscription, Editor offers advanced grammar and style refinements like clarity, conciseness, formality, vocabulary suggestions, and more. If you choose, it can also make suggestions to improve the inclusivity of your writing. The inclusivity feature aims to help users write in a more inclusive and respectful manner by suggesting language that avoids bias and promotes diversity. For example, with this feature enabled, Microsoft Editor may suggest using gender-neutral terms instead of gender-specific ones (e.g., it might suggest "firefighter" instead of "fireman" or "chairperson" instead of "chairman"). The tool might flag terms or phrases that could be culturally insensitive or outdated and suggest more appropriate alternatives. The feature may identify language that could be considered ableist and suggest more respectful alternatives. For example, suggesting "person with a disability" instead of "disabled person." The goal of this feature is to promote diversity and inclusion, enhance professionalism, increase audience reach, and support social awareness.

Bonus Tips for Using AI in Writing and Publishing

Writing is an extremely rewarding experience and a wonderful way to give back to the profession and preserve your legacy. Here are some bonus tips for how AI tools can help you on your way:

• Were you a little too long-winded? You can copy paragraphs or sections into ChatGPT or Copilot and have them rewrite it more succinctly. You can even designate roughly how many words you want it shortened to.
• Having trouble coming up with an example? You can give the AI tool a set of parameters or an outline of issues for a fact pattern and have it generate an example for you.
• Want real-world examples? Let ChatGPT or Copilot search the internet for news on the topic you are writing about. Then, you need to verify the credibility of the source, and you are all set.

By leveraging these AI tools, you can enhance your productivity, improve the quality of your writing, and ensure your articles are well-researched, engaging, and professionally polished.