Lawyer/Leader podcast explores AI use by law students, guidance for practitioners
The latest edition of the Lawyer/Leader podcast features two discussions regarding AI – how it is shaping future lawyers, as well as measures the Bar is taking to offer practitioners guidance as technology evolves.
Wm. Reece Smith, Jr., Leadership Academy Class XIII fellows Ryan Elias of Kubicki Draper in Orlando and Antonio Jaimes with the Volusia County Clerk of Court discuss with 1L students how AI is being used in surprising ways to optimize learning, their perspective on using it, and the guidance they are getting from their school and professors.
Sydney Allen and Daylyn Randolph, students at Florida A&M University College of Law, described how they use AI to make concepts easier to grasp as they study. Allen, a reality TV show fan, says during her first semester she was struggling to learn the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and asked AI to translate the rules using the characters in the show “Love Island.” She says fellow students have used a similar approach, converting concepts to football terms or even putting them into songs.
“I can recall the first season from the last season, but with civil procedures, I cannot tell you from the top of the rules to the bottom of the rules by heart. Whenever you see similar language or similar terms, it sparks part of your brain [and] you're going to recall what you made it apply to a lot easier.”
Randolph demonstrates/introduces “Joe,” an AI project he created in ChatGPT.
“Hey, everyone, I'm Joe. I'm Daylyn's AI study partner. I don't replace his work. I enhance it. I've got access to all his property law material – the book, notes, slides – so I help him tackle cases, concepts, and exam prep. I'm here to show up in his learning, step by step,” says a friendly voice, presumably from Rudolph’s ChatGPT session.
Randolph controls the quality of the content Joe uses for source material. He loaded a PDF file of his textbook, all his teacher’s PowerPoint files, his own notes, and audio from classes he is allowed to record, and created a requirement for Joe to get permission before pulling any from outside sources. Joe explains concepts to Randolph in familiar vernacular, then Randolph goes back and reads the “black letter law.”
“I have to learn the material one way or another,” says Randolph. “I'm just using AI to teach me in the way that I've learned English, honestly.”
Allen says the biggest pitfall she has seen students make is using AI to write a brief and not researching and writing about the cases themselves. She says developing legal analysis skills requires doing the reading and writing. Plus, AI is an unreliable source for analysis.
In the second half of the podcast, Leadership Academy Fellow Kimberley Leonard of O’Hara in Jacksonville has an in-depth discussion with Board of Governors members Duffy Myrtetus and Gordon Glover, co-chairs of the Bar’s Special Committee on AI Tools and Resources, on what is being done now to help lawyers navigate AI, and what it holds for the legal landscape.
Myrtetus points to Ethics Opinion 24-1 as providing minimum standards for lawyers who use AI and to the LegalFuel best practices guide for language attorneys can use in fee agreements.
“I believe 80% of legal professionals surveyed said that they are now using artificial intelligence tools in their law practice, and that was up from 19% in 2023,” says Glover, referring to a recent survey by Cleo.
One change they see on the horizon is a change to billing.
“Probably over time, the enormous efficiencies that these tools offer are going to force some of the conventional law firm models to adjust,” says Myrtetus.
Glover also noted that the Florida Second District Court of Appeal opinion from December 10, 2025, for Russell v. Mells, a pro se case in which AI-generated documents that contain hallucinations were filed, does a good job of addressing lawyers’ ethical duties and obligations, Ethics Opinion 24-1, and professional conduct.
“At the end of the day, the lawyer is responsible for the work product,” Glover said. “It's a lawyer's duty to check the [citations], make sure that the facts are accurate, even though they are utilizing these tools.”
The Lawyer/Leader podcast is produced by the Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism at The Florida Bar and hosted by the Wm. Reece Smith, Jr., Leadership Academy. It features discussions with top judges, lawyers, politicians, and public servants about the skills needed to thrive in the legal profession.
“The Future of Law: The Game Has Changed,” course #9730, has been approved by The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Department for 1.0 hour of General CLE credit, 1.0 hour of Professionalism credit.
