CBA Record January-February 2026

opposing counsel’s work, is one who fails to meet their ethical obligations. But competence goes deeper than avoiding malpractice. It means being able to more effectively serve our clients with the full range of tools available. When used competently, AI gives practitioners the power to draft routine documents in minutes, identify relevant precedents more quickly, and spot complex legal issues faster. To reject these tools means we are artificially limiting our capacity to serve. Second, access to justice. The justice gap in America is staggering. AI offers us a significant pathway to bridge the gap between need and affordability. AI powered document assembly can help pro se litigants navigate the legal system. AI chatbots can provide basic legal informa tion to people who would never step into a law office. AI can make legal services more efficient and affordable. As lawyers, we have a professional responsibility to work toward making legal services accessible to all. If we resist AI out of fear or skepticism, we are effec tively choosing to preserve a system that serves only those who can afford it. That’s not just bad policy; it’s a betrayal of our profession’s highest ideals. Third, competitive survival. Let me be blunt: Lawyers who fail to adopt AI will not survive the next decade in their cur rent form. We’re already seeing it happen. Firms that have integrated AI into their practice are completing document review in a fraction of the time it takes their

competitors. They’re conducting due dili gence more thoroughly, researching case law more efficiently, and managing their practices more profitably. Meanwhile, firms that have resisted are losing clients to competitors who can deliver better results at lower costs. This isn’t about replacing lawyers; it’s about empowering them. AI handles the routine, repetitive, or time-consuming tasks that don’t require a law degree. This frees lawyers to do what only lawyers can do: exercise judgment, build relation ships, craft strategy, advocate with pas sion, and counsel with wisdom. AI doesn’t threaten our profession; it helps us return to what our profession should always have been about. How to Embrace AI Understanding why we must embrace AI is only the first step. The harder question is how. This is why I’ve implemented 10 specialized AI working committees, each tasked with exploring a different facet of AI’s impact on our profession, including ethics, regulation, courtroom operations, law school education, solo practitioners, data privacy and cybersecurity, bias and fairness, and the future of legal work itself. These committees aren’t academic exer cises. Rather, in line with this bar year’s theme, they’re charged with producing practical guidance, educational resources, and policy recommendations that will help CBA lawyers navigate this trans formation and thrive in an AI-enhanced legal landscape.

Some will say we’re moving too fast. Others will say we’re moving too slowly. But I believe we’re moving at exactly the right pace, with purpose, with thoughtful ness, and with a clear-eyed understanding that the future of our profession depends on the choices we make today. AI As a Collective Challenge To my colleagues, I issue this challenge: Don’t wait for the future of legal practice to arrive; help create it. Take a CLE on AI. Experiment with AI tools in your practice. Join one of our working committees. Ask questions. Share your concerns. Contrib ute your expertise. Because AI 2035 needs to be our collective vision for keeping the profession vibrant, relevant, and true to its core mission of serving justice. By 2035, I envision a legal profes sion where AI is a trusted tool in every lawyer’s practice. Where judges use AI to manage dockets more efficiently while reserving their wisdom for the decisions that truly matter. Where clients receive better, faster, more affordable legal ser vices because their lawyers have learned to work alongside AI. Where the practice of law is more accessible, more efficient, and more focused on what humans do best: thinking critically, acting ethically, and pursuing justice with unwavering com mitment. That future is within our reach. Together, let’s build the legal profession that 2035 deserves and that our clients, our communities, and our successors will thank us for creating.

The Chicago Bar Association mourns the passing of Judge William J. Bauer (Ret.), a leader in the legal community for more than 60 years. He served as a DuPage County State’s Attorney, Circuit Judge of the 18th Circuit, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and Judge of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Bauer was a career-long member of The Chicago Bar Association who gave tremendously of his time and talent to the CBA and our members. The CBA is forever grateful for Judge Bauer’s contributions to and impact on our Association and the legal profession.

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