The Generative AI newsletter for legal pros everywhere.

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This is day 17 of 100 (our goal - 100 consecutive days!) and today we will:

1. show what generative AI apps are killing it right now

2. build an AI law firm consultant bot/prompt

3. use the bot to create a client value team creation plan

4. share examples of how to use the bot to address flat fees, profitability, and 1st-year associate training

5. show a video on a new badge verification for content that has not used AI - OPPORTUNITY to work on this project!

6. “Elon Musk” the news (we made that a verb)

Generative AI apps are seeing a massive influx of funding and revenue. Not surprising. While many of the apps have been around a bit, many are new and still in beta - which means they break often. Just use them wisely.

Read the TechCrunch article here.

Also, yes, we are already starting to see the “AI” and “Generative AI” tags being overused as a way to generate interest. We know the legal market has a nasty tendency to adopt such hype and slap shiny object language on everything. Buyer beware.

Ok, let's kick this off, shall we?

PROMPTS & USE CASES

Many of you have yet to test out ChatGPT or have tried but have been unimpressed by the often blandness of its replies. And some of you no doubt are budding experts on it by now.

This newsletter is about pragmatic and practical uses in your daily lives so I tend not to get technical or expand too deeply into the science of AI and GAI (generative AI).

Today, I want to walk you through a specific use case and how to use and interact with ChatGPT.

ChatGPT is a creator of content, replacing us in that way. But, it is not the final editor, we are that and will remain that for some time.

In today’s use case and prompts, you will see how I get ChatGPT to pull things together or expand when I need it to. In a future newsletter, I will show you how to turn ChatGPT into an editor - but still, the output requires a human touch.

Using ChatGPT as a Law Firm Consultant to evaluate the creation of a Client Value Team

I am not advocating for a client value team (CVT) here. Though done right, they are highly effective and an amazing resource for partners to up their game.

I am using this use case to demonstrate how to use prompts to get ChatGPT to function as a Senior Law Firm Consultant. You can swap out the topics of CVTs for anything you want. Be sure to swap out other relevant info too.

I will give some examples of variations at the end of this section.

Step 1:

▶︎▶︎PROMPT:

Act as a former law firm managing partner with 30+ years of experience leading practice groups and law firms. You are now a well-regarded management advisor and consultant to law firms. I will provide you with some discussion topics and your task is to research both sides of the argument, present valid arguments for each side, refute opposing points of view, and draw persuasive conclusions based on evidence. Your goal is to help people come away from the discussion with increased knowledge and insight into the topic.

Output: a 1500-word argumentative article about the topic I provide to you. Articulate key business metrics, likely impact and provide explicit examples and case studies

Formatting: Use memo formatting with bullets where appropriate.

Tone: Clear and to the point. Avoid fluff or jargon

Context and Constraints: Your synopsis is for an audience of law firm partners from various practices. Provide a thorough and in-depth analysis of the subject matter. Explain complex concepts in a clear and accessible way. Use examples from many fields. Present counterarguments and divergent opinions in a balanced and objective way

Topic: "What is a client value team and why should a law firm consider creating one?"

👉 Here is the link to the reply I got back.

If you review the reply I got back or yours (if you are running your own prompt), you will likely note that there are sections/segments that you either:
• want to understand better, or
• want a more complete answer for

Whenever you need either of these things, use the “elaborate on ______” prompt.

Step 2:

For me, I want to elaborate on change management as the reply was rather dry and general.

▶︎▶︎PROMPT:

Elaborate on "resistance to change." What are proven best practices for managing change within a law firm given typical lawyer traits and behaviors? 

This returned a decent expansion on this topic.

Step 3:

Now that we have the output from the first two steps, we can prompt ChatGPT to pull things together for us to see what we have.

You will see in this prompt that I did all of these steps in one chat session with ChatGPT, that is why I reference “this entire conversation” in the prompt.

PRO TIP: If Chat GPT timed out on you and you were unable to do all of this in one chat session, have no fear. Simply Copy and Paste your previous sessions (your prompts and replies) and paste that into the prompt, after adding this [entire conversation: (paste it here)]. Yes, this will be a lot. No, it is not guaranteed to work. But it should more than is won’t

▶︎▶︎PROMPT

Task: Based on this entire conversation, now please create the following:

Output: A comprehensive guide, with critical steps detailed, to roll out a CVT within a firm, taking into consideration the drawbacks and how to mitigate them. Ensure that the change management burden is clearly addressed by providing specific instructions on how to be successful.

[Entire Conversation: ____]

👉 Here is the reply I got back for mine.

Step 4: When ChatGPT stops in middle of reply

If you look closely at the reply I linked to above, you will see that ChatGPT literally stopped replying in the middle of a “thought.” This happens often.

Mine stopped like this: “To mitigate . . . “

Do not fret or start a new chat session. Simply use the following prompt

▶︎▶︎PROMPT

please continue from where you left off

That will shake ChatGPT awake and get it writing again!

After all of this, you now have a fairly substantial memo and roadmap for how to proceed to get a CVT up and running. Is it perfect? No. Did it reduce the amount of time it would take you otherwise? Absolutely.

Some other example prompts beyond a CVT.

1. Varying profitability in an employment law practice

2. Client demand for flat or fixed fees

3. Business of law training for 1st years

Play with the topic to see what you can get started on. You can also change who is writing this and doing the work - it does not have to be a former law firm managing partner with 30+ years in.

Tool Walk-Thru

Tool: Not by AI

What it is: A badge that shows that your content was written by a human and not by AI.

Why this matters: The lines are getting blurry as we know. The ramifications are unclear and unsettled. Having a verification system might be helpful. This is similar to Creative Commons licensing.

OPPORTUNITY: They are looking for legal folks to reach out and help them adapt this into a more legally stringent verification. Could be a fun and interesting project for some of you.

News you can use and lose: Irony & Poignance

I hear you Sam and thank you!! But yes, please spread the word. 🙌

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That's a wrap for today. Stay thirsty & see ya next time! If you want more, be sure to follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

DISCLAIMER: None of this is legal advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not legal advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any legal decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.