Plenary: Navigating the New Frontier: Ethical Uses of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Legal Practice

Navigating the New Frontier: Ethical Uses of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Legal Practice

60 minutes

1.0 EP

Plenary description: In this practical, hands-on session, you will gain a clearer understanding of the latest advancements in the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in legal practice. You'll learn how lawyers use Gen AI ethically and responsibly and identify key areas where lawyers can encounter ethical challenges.  Whether you're new to AI, have some experience and want to deepen your understanding, or are already working with these tools and want to stay current with emerging risks and responsibilities, this session offers something for everyone. Please feel free to bring your laptop, tablet or smartphone; we will encourage you to use them during our exercises.

Professor Sonia M. Gipson Rankin is a distinguished legal scholar and educator with an interdisciplinary background. Holding a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law and a B.S. in Computer Science from Morgan State University, summa cum laude, Prof. Gipson Rankin is a Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she blends her love of tech, torts, and toddlers. Her algorithmic justice scholarship has been featured in prestigious journals including the Washington and Lee Law Review, NYU Law Review Online, Wisconsin Law Review, Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering, and the ABA SciTech Magazine. Her work on legal education innovation features in the Connecticut Law Review, Family Law Quarterly, and the Journal  of Law and Education. Prof. Gipson Rankin is an American Bar Foundation Fellow, member of the New Mexico Supreme Court Commission on Equity and Justice and a past president of the New Mexico Black Lawyers Association. She is a member of the UNM-Santa Fe Institute Interdisciplinary Working Group on Algorithmic Justice, where she collaborates with experts across fields to advise state and federal policymakers on AI-related issues. She co-founded the UNM Algorithmic Justice Project and regularly speaks on AI, technology, algorithmic justice, constitutional law and inclusive leadership, having been a contributor and legal analyst in media outlets such as BBC World News, Reuters, NPR, Yahoo! Finance, Agence France-Presse, podcasts and local media outlets. Additionally, she regularly presents lectures on artificial intelligence to judges serving in state, international, and tribal courts, as well as state bars, universities, medical associations and private industries across the United States.

William D. Slease (“Bill”) is the Professional Development Program Director for the State Bar of New Mexico. In  addition to his duties at the State Bar, he has served as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law where he has taught Ethics, 1L Lab, and served as a trial practice skills evaluator for the evidence-trial practice skills course.