Course Description

PAI (Partner with AI) introduces legal professionals to the practical use of AI in law practice. The course explores how AI can serve as a powerful assistant, research partner, and workflow accelerator. Participants will learn how to use AI effectively, responsibly, and securely in real-world legal tasks.

By the end of the course, participants will understand how to:

• Use AI as an assistant
  • Ask better questions, analyze documents, and draft faster with domain-specific AI.
• Leverage AI as an intelligent document vault
  • Securely store, organize, and bulk-analyze legal documents.
• Expand knowledge and research capabilities
  • Investigate complex legal, regulatory, and tax issues across multiple domains.
• Streamline legal workflows
  • Run pre-built workflows or design firm-specific processes with AI support.
• Enhance drafting and review
  • Draft, edit, and review contracts with AI-powered assistance.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Interact with AI effectively using precise prompts and queries.
• Select and evaluate appropriate AI tools for specific legal tasks.
• Develop simple scripts for AI interaction (optional).
• Use AI to co-create scripts and workflows (optional).
• Organize and prepare private documents for AI-based implementation.
• Structure conversations with AI around firm-specific or client documents.

Audience

• Lawyers
• Paralegals
• Legal professionals exploring AI in practice

Skill Level

• Beginner to Intermediate

Duration

• One day (flexible format)

Prerequisites

• General interest in AI and its applications in law (no prior technical knowledge required)

Format

• 50% lectures and discussion
• 50% hands-on labs

Lab Environment

• Zero Install — No software installation required on student machines.
• Cloud-based labs — A secure lab environment will be provided.

Students will need:

• A modern laptop with an unrestricted Internet connection
  • (Laptops behind restrictive VPNs/firewalls may encounter issues; a connectivity checklist will be provided.)
• Chrome browser

Available Tools

AI for legal practice comes in many forms. We will cover the following tools and their strengths:

• Harvey – A specialized AI platform for legal research and drafting, designed specifically for law firms.
• CoCounsel (Casetext/Thomson Reuters) – An AI assistant for document review, deposition prep, and legal research.
• Spellbook – Contract drafting and review integrated into Microsoft Word.
• DoNotPay – AI-driven consumer rights and legal automation tool.
• Other emerging tools – Brief analysis, due diligence automation, and eDiscovery platforms.

We will compare capabilities, pricing models, and adoption across firms.

What if I Have Only ChatGPT?

Not every firm will start with dedicated legal AI tools. Many tasks can still be handled using general-purpose AI like ChatGPT:

• Drafting letters, memos, and contracts with careful review.
• Summarizing case law, statutes, or client documents.
• Brainstorming legal strategies or arguments.
• Creating structured workflows (step-by-step task outlines).
• Automating repetitive writing tasks with custom prompts.

Limitations:

• ChatGPT is not specialized in law and may produce errors (“hallucinations”).
• Requires human oversight and fact-checking.
• Does not provide legal advice or replace professional judgment.

Best practice: Use ChatGPT as a productivity partner for drafting and research — but always verify sources and outcomes before relying on results.

Detailed Outline

Module 1: Introduction to AI in Law

• What is AI? Myths vs. reality
• Why “Partner with AI” instead of competing with it
• Use cases across litigation, corporate, compliance, and tax

Module 2: Talking to AI the Right Way

• Basics of prompt engineering
• How to ask precise legal questions
• Hands-on lab: drafting queries and reviewing responses

Module 3: Using General-Purpose AI (ChatGPT)

• Drafting contracts, memos, and emails
• Summarizing statutes, cases, and documents
• Lab: Uploading/summarizing a sample legal document
• Limitations and safeguards

Module 4: Specialized Legal AI Tools

• Overview of Harvey, CoCounsel, Spellbook, DoNotPay
• Live demos or guided walkthroughs
• Comparison of features, pricing, and adoption trends

Module 5: AI and Legal Workflows

• Automating repetitive tasks (due diligence, document review)
• Designing workflows tailored to your practice
• Lab: Build a simple AI-powered workflow

Module 6: Security, Ethics, and Confidentiality

• Risks of using AI with client data
• ABA guidance and regulatory updates
• Best practices for secure, compliant use

Module 7: Building AI Readiness in Your Practice

• Organizing private documents for AI systems
• Structuring firm-specific workflows
• Creating a roadmap for adoption

Module 8: Wrap-Up and Next Steps

• Review of key concepts
• Checklist for evaluating AI tools
• Q&A and resources for further learning