Last week WashU Law hosted the third annual Legal Tech Week, held in conjunction with WashU’s AI Perspectives Week, a university-wide initiative examining the role of AI in teaching, learning, research and professional practice. The series brought together legal professionals, academics, alumni, and students for discussions on how AI is reshaping legal work, careers, research, and practice. WashU Law is committed to ensuring that our students not only understand the profound implications of AI for the profession, but that they are prepared to lead in shaping its future.
The Future of AI and Legal Work
The week opened with “The Future of AI and Legal Work,” a panel exploring how AI is changing legal work, legal AI products, junior lawyer training, and the future direction of legal practice. The panel featured Matt Kelly, Simpson Thacher partner and AI Practice head; Miriam Kim, Munger Tolles & Olson partner; and Justice Brian Palmucci, Massachusetts District Court Associate, with WashU Law Treiman Professor Jens Frankenreiter serving as moderator.
Video coming soon.
Legal Tech Careers
Attendees had an opportunity to explore emerging career paths during “Legal Tech Careers.” Tom Martin, CEO and founder of LawDroid and Spectral Mind; Bethany Lee Scardella, JD ’12, corporate counsel at Google; and Wei Zhu, JD ’17, associate vice president and assistant general patent counsel – AI at Eli Lilly and Company, discussed how a legal education can translate into careers involving AI, legal technology, in-house work, product development and innovation. WashU Law James Carr Professor Jonathan Choi moderated the panel.
Video coming soon.
AI-Related Faculty Research Workshop
This year’s Legal Tech Week included a faculty research workshop where Daniel Schwarcz, Fredrikson & Byron Professor of Law, Distinguished University Teaching Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, presented his paper “The Limits of Regulating AI Safety Through Liability and Insurance: Lessons from Cybersecurity.” Schwarcz’s paper examines whether civil liability and insurance can effectively manage the risks posed by AI. It argues that insurers face significant challenges in pricing and reducing AI risks and calls for standardized collection of AI safety data to support better regulation.
AI in the Local Legal Community
The week concluded with a discussion focused on the ways lawyers and AI-native legal practices are using AI in the St. Louis legal community.
Panelists included Glenn Davis, JD ’82, partner at HeplerBroom and a member of the WashU Law AI Advisory Board; Michael Ellenhorn, JD ’97, founder and CEO of Decipher; and Christian Puzder, founder and CEO of Casefriend and a member of the WashU Law AI Advisory Board. Stefanie Lindquist, Nickerson Dean and Professor of Law at WashU Law, moderated the discussion.
Video coming soon.
A Collaborative Built for What Comes Next
WashU Law’s AI Collaborative is building a national and international hub for research, policy development, and practical education at the intersection of law and artificial intelligence.
Its work connects scholarship with practical challenges AI presents for the legal profession, including interdisciplinary research and legal education to judicial training and collaboration with legal tech companies. Through these efforts, the Collaborative is helping students and legal professionals develop the knowledge and skills to navigate the changing role of AI responsibly.
