CBA Record January-February 2026

AI 2035

EXHIBIT AI: PRACTICAL TIPS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION

By Justice Rena Van Tine

A rtificial intelligence has moved from gimmick to genuine utility in the legal profession. Here are some tips for law yers looking to leverage AI in their practices. Key References l Illinois Supreme Court AI Policy (January 1, 2025) https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/News/1485/Illinois-Supreme Court-Announces-Policy-on-Artificial-Intelligence/news-detail/ l Illinois Supreme Court Judicial Reference Sheet (January 1, 2025) https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/News/1485/Illinois-Supreme Court-Announces-Policy-on-Artificial-Intelligence/news-detail/ l Illinois ARDC Attorney’s Guide to Implementing AI (October 1, 2025) https://www.iardc.org/EducationAndOut reach/ArtificialIntelligence Risk Management l To minimize risk, remember that AI is fast, not necessarily authoritative. It is great at speed, structure, and recognizing patterns from whatever database it can access, but it remains heavily reliant on human expertise for context, accuracy, strat egy, and ethics. l Ensure data security and compliance with related legal require ments and good business practices. AI tools often require access to sensitive client information, thereby necessitating strict adherence to data protection laws. Implement strong cybersecurity measures and remain informed about the cur

rent regulations governing AI use in the legal field. l Remember to also comply with any related ethical standards, including taking the necessary steps to protect client confiden tiality and privilege. Since AI inquiries and searches are not confidential, be sure to redact names and unique identifiers when necessary. Tag AI-assisted drafts and keep a record of prompts and outputs for internal work product and privilege tracking. Rather than starting with anything that might be considered sensitive, run tests with synthetic or public data. l When starting out using AI, strive for high-impact, low-risk wins such as a rewrite of a first draft. Lawyers report success in having AI produce or refine letters, blog posts, discovery responses, biographies, engagement letters, fee proposals, client alerts, and internal policies. The key in making such tools work well is to treat outputs as starting points, not final work product. Prompts and Use Cases l When prompting AI, be specific about the requested task, target audience, appropriate jurisdiction, identified con straints, ideal tone, and preferred format. Input examples and a style sample when possible. Ask for structure and tell it if you want bullet points, tables, paragraphs, or quotes, and pin cite sources when appropriate. Ask the model to list assumptions, flag uncertainties, and separate facts from inferences. ❍ For example, lawyers often use AI to summarize long

18 January/February 2026