AI In 2024: A Year Of Crossroads And Decisions For Legal Education And Law Practice

Patrick Parsons (Georgia State; Google Scholar), Foreword—AI in 2024: A Year of Crossroads and Decisions, 41 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. __ (2025):

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues its rapid evolution, the legal profession stands at a critical juncture. This article serves as a gateway to understanding the profound impact of generative AI on the practice of law and legal education, as well as some of the critical issues with which the legal profession will have to grapple. Through an exploration of recent developments and emerging trends, it illuminates the role AI could play in the future practice of law. From redefining efficiency gains and addressing the justice gap to reshaping legal education's approach to technological competency, the article introduces the complex interplay between AI and the legal landscape. By delving into pressing questions surrounding AI adoption and advocating for proactive engagement with its implications, the article sets the stage for a discussion of generative AI's transformative potential in shaping the legal profession's future.

Conclusion
Generative AI is here. Lawyers, law students, law faculty, and pro se litigants are all using technology to augment the practice of law. The speed at which technology continues to change the practice of law is quickening and will continue to do so until generative AI tools are as fully integrated as word processing software and internet searching. The question, then, becomes what role do attorneys play? We seem to be at the forefront of a technology that can fundamentally change the practice of law. Will lawyers accept this new reality or fight against it? Will they utilize AI to achieve efficiency gains if it means they must also rethink parts of their business and training models? With efficiency gains, we could finally eliminate the presumption that part of practicing law in an unhealthy work-life balance. We need to utilize AI to lessen the justice gap and demand equality in access to the technologies. Who will be the change agent to leverage these emerging technologies and develop technologically sophisticated approaches for legal aid organizations that allow them to expand their reach drastically? Finally, how long will it take law schools and lawyers to realize that tech competency, especially in new AI tools, is a necessary part of legal practice?

These are all issues and questions the legal profession must grapple with at the onset of the AI revolution. If we do not actively engage with AI issues, we could miss out on some of the greatest benefits the technology has to offer. Gen AI can improve access, efficiency, and the quality of life for everyone. If we make the wrong moves, however, it could also reinforce the status quo, leaving technology as a service that can be sold to us instead of something we can utilize to change the legal profession and legal training for the better. Time will tell how much generative AI changes legal practice. But, our decisions now and our insistence on generative AI's role in bettering the practice of law will be instrumental in how the technology will be used in the future.