If you haven’t seen Sal Khan’s TED Talk on how he has leveraged GPT-4 into his new offering of Khanmigo, then let me suggest that you spend 15 minutes of your time watching it. After watching it, continue on down the page for some thoughts that I had on how law firms could also use AI in their Professional Development and Training programs.
Are you a law firm looking for ways to enhance the education and professional development of your attorneys? If so, you might want to consider creating AI-powered tools that mimic what Sal Khan’s Khanmigo does, but tailored to your law firm’s specific practices, region, or even culture.
In his recent talk, Sal Khan discussed how Khanmigo uses large language models to help students learn and develop critical thinking skills. While Khanmigo was designed for students, I believe that the same principles could be applied to the professional development of attorneys and legal professionals.
One area where an AI-powered tool could be particularly helpful is enhancing legal research skills. By using a large language model and training the interface to set up lessons on proper sources, citations, and critical thinking skills, an AI tool could work as an interactive tutor that could identify where the attorney needs improvement, or a subtle nudge in the right direction to improve their research skills.
Another area where an AI tool could be useful is in developing writing skills. Sal Khan mentions in his talk how Khanmigo helps students become better writers by providing them with feedback and guidance. Similarly, an AI tool could help attorneys improve their writing skills by analyzing their writing and providing feedback on grammar, style, and tone. The tool could be trained using the firm’s prior work product, or by coordinating with a vendor to provide resources that would identify weaknesses in writing and provide assistance in improving the overall writing skills of the attorney. Think of it as an interactive Practical Law tutor.
In addition to legal research and writing, an AI tool could also be helpful in developing business development skills. For example, an AI tool could analyze data on potential clients and provide attorneys with information on their interests, background, and preferences. This would help attorneys tailor their approach and increase their chances of winning new business. At a more basic level, the AI could help the attorney outline their business development plans and give them timelines and benchmarks to work towards.
Of course, creating an AI tool is not without its challenges. As Sal Khan mentions, “there are certainly ethical concerns” when it comes to AI, and it is important to be mindful of these issues when developing a tool. It is also important to make sure that the tool is effective and accurate, and that it is tailored to the needs of the law firm and its attorneys. Both are formattable obstacles, but the return on investment could be huge.
Despite these challenges, an AI-powered tool could be a game-changer for law firms looking to enhance the education and professional development of their attorneys. By leveraging the power of large language models, law firms could provide their attorneys with quick and accurate information, personalized feedback on their work, and valuable insights into potential clients.
So if you are a law firm looking to stay ahead of the curve and differentiate yourself when it comes to education and professional development, you should consider creating an AI-powered tool tailored to your specific needs. As Sal Khan says, “we together have a chance of addressing the two sigma problem and turning it into a two sigma opportunity, dramatically accelerating education as we know it.”