Introduction to the New(ish) Technology Competence

Technology competence is not new, but in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), it applies in new, more complex ways. Under ABA Model Rule 1.1 and its Comment 8, competent representation includes understanding the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology. When it issued ABA Formal Opinion 512, the ABA reaffirmed that the duty of technology competence applies to GenAI, along with all other ethical duties, including:

Legal writing challenged me. I was already a good writer: I obtained my bachelor's degree in English literature, and I had written more academic papers than the average college student. I thought I’d earned my right to proclaim mastery. However, legal writing was radically the opposite of everything I learned in my B.A. program—so much so, that it leveled the playing field and catapulted me to the starting line again with everyone else. The literary world is all about creative freedom and self-expression through liberal use of writing devices like metaphors, allegory, etc. In contrast, legal writing is technical or business writing where clarity of thought and economy of words is key. To master legal writing, I had to unlearn deeply instilled and contrary habits.

If your organization cuts cost but doesn’t increase value, then you’re doing transformation wrong. This is a sign you’re adding complexity and processes that clients don’t want to pay for and your lawyers hate. But don’t give up. It is possible to ease burdens, elevate work, and satisfy clients simultaneously. The key is implementing improvements that increase value from the client’s perspective. To do so, it's time to move our focus from process to value. Take a holistic approach to workflow improvement by using the value stream framework.

“The biggest misconception is that paralegals are clerical staff. And, although a paralegal may perform clerical duties—and make no mistake, clerical staff are important to a law firm—a paralegal’s function can go far beyond clerical duties.

A properly trained paralegal will have a handle on several substantive areas of the law and can assist in functions such as drafting documents, investigating claims, engaging with clients, preparing witnesses, and planning trial strategy.”

— Keith Shannon, paralegal educator

When we start out as lawyers, we’re so afraid of being caught unprepared that we try to memorize every fact, every detail, and every statute. It seems like the smart thing to do. After all, doesn’t every job posting require “attention to detail”? The problem is that details become our security blanket. When a partner, a judge, or a potential client asks a question, we regurgitate the facts we memorized the night before and rattle off code sections—surely, our knowledge will impress our audience.

Addressing your reader and potential client’s problems entails lending a listening ear and showing genuine empathy. Every problem you encounter has a human and emotional aspect that requires a proper and sensitive approach. Whether it’s a contract dispute over the interpretation of a cessation of business clause, an excused performance under a force majeure clause, or responsibility for undelivered goods, each case is a legal question to you—but never forget that it’s an emotional issue for your client. These situations call for empathy. And that means you must connect with your clients on a more personal level to address their pain points.

For most lawyers and law firms, their business strategy is three words long: “Do good work.” The assumption is that individual effort and intelligence are all that it takes to succeed. If it were ever true, it isn’t anymore. Today there’s a breakdown in trust and an uptick in blame that’s getting in the way of “good work.”

Innovation is now becoming an annoying buzzword. Even for people inclined to embrace legal innovation, the word is now eliciting groans. And for people afraid of change, innovation is such a loaded word that even thinking about it is overwhelming.

There’s only one certainty: The legal industry is continuing to change. Everything else is uncertain. The question is whether lawyers will adjust enough to remain a valuable and well-compensated part of it.

The legal industry is overrun with counterintuitive and counterproductive expectations about innovation. The demands for radical innovation seem to grow louder every day. The more frustrated we are with the lack of progress, the more extreme we are with our demands. But here’s a simple question: is the purpose of innovation to show our CEOs and clients that we are exploring the latest fashionable technology? Or is the purpose of innovation to increase revenue, value, and client satisfaction?