Your clients want to know how you use AI

Transparency isn't a liability. Being open about when and how you are using AI in your practice signals that you understand where you are adding value, or at least that’s what in-house counsel say. 

Also this week: FAQ pages are more than website filler, but most firms still treat them like an afterthought; a primer on litigation funding that cuts through the jargon; and a podcast that delivers tactical, no-nonsense marketing advice.

Coming soon, an interview with “the Yoda of LinkedIn” about why that platform is a valuable tool for attorneys.

But first, if you missed the SNL sketch where Justice Kavanaugh meets up with Secretary Hegseth and FBI Director Patel at a D.C. bar, you’ve got to check it out.

That blank page is where the spirit of Clippy lives.
Over on Instagram, @thelawyerdaniel proves you aren’t the only one struggling to format your Word docs. 

Shining a light on the “Shadow Docket.”
In this week’s episode of “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver did a deep dive on the Supreme Court’s “shadow” or "emergency" docket. (Let us know in this week’s poll how you refer to these cases.)

Does using an AI note taker waive attorney-client privilege? 
Each day, we’re one step closer to finding out. 

A crime a decade in the making.
The DOJ has charged 30 people with using info from M&A firms to do insider trading. 

Choosing the right software for your law firm is a critical decision, and having the right information makes all the difference. Software Advice’s latest Comparison Guide for the Raise the Bar network helps you evaluate three leading legal practice management solutions: Clio, PracticePanther, and MyCase.

What’s inside?

Download your exclusive guide to find the legal software that best supports your practice.

Third-party litigation finance (or third-party funding) is a 20-billion-dollar industry in the United States, but it got its start in a place most American lawyers wouldn't expect: Australia. Aussies pioneered the practice in the mid-1990s, but it didn't arrive in the U.S. until 2006, when Credit Suisse founded a Litigation Risk Strategies unit. Now, small firms are using it to bring riskier cases on longer timelines, BigLaw is interested in doing plaintiffs’ work and Penn Carey Law is even teaching a popular class on it.

The pitch to investors has typically been that litigation outcomes don't correlate with the stock market, so investing is a good way to diversify your portfolio. Now hedge funds are moving in, and they're treating investments in litigation like distressed assets.

Why this Matters: How litigation finance is used, and who is investing in it, will drive the regulatory agenda. Policymakers at both the state and federal levels are actively trying to decide when litigation funding should be available, and whether it must be disclosed.

You shouldn’t assume that telling your clients when and how you use AI is going to cause them to ask for a discount. Or so says Eric Dodson Greenberg, the executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Cox Media Group. Greenberg says he wants info on outside counsel’s AI usage not so he can cut costs, but so he can understand where AI is creating efficiency and where it's enabling genuinely new kinds of work (think surfacing novel arguments, drawing on different datasets, or applying negotiation psychology to counterparty analysis). 

Why this Matters: Greenberg also highlights how information about AI use is valuable to firms as they assess their capabilities. You can’t make informed decisions about training new attorneys, resource allocation or how to make improvements if you don’t have the data to answer questions like: Which lawyers are using AI effectively? Which practice groups have found new applications? (Bloomberg Law)

If you're serious about growing your practice, Lunch Hour Legal Marketing belongs in your rotation. Hosted by Gyi Tsakalakis and Conrad Saam, two guys who've been in the legal marketing trenches for years, the show cuts through the noise and offers practical, specific advice for bringing in more business. 

Why this Matters: If you want to understand marketing without being marketed to, this is a good place to start. The tips they offer are ones you can actually implement, and they aren’t hawking a specific product. (Lunch Hour Legal Marketing)

The humble FAQ page has quietly become one of the most valuable pieces of real estate on your law firm's website. As Legal Marketing Blog’s John Hinson explains in this article, FAQ content now does triple duty by: matching how clients actually search, building trust with prospects who aren't ready to pick up the phone yet and feeding AI-driven search tools that prefer structured question-and-answer content.

Why this Matters: While these pages are workhorses, they are relatively simple to build. Hinson suggests mining your intake calls and email inquiries for content. If multiple clients are asking you the same question, that is one that should be answered on your website. (Legal Marketing Blog)

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Raise the Bar is written and curated by Emily Kelchen, edited by Bianca Prieto.