244 | 🤥 Will YOU use ChatGPT voice mode to lie to your family?

In today’s Brainyacts:

1. AI Courtroom Mock Battles

2. Can you use ChatGPT Search for research?

3. AI tackles 2 more of 5 human senses and other AI model news

4. Tony Stark says “hell no” to AI replication and more news you can use

   👋 to all subscribers!

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Lead Memo

👩‍⚖️ 🏛️ Small Law’s Secret Weapon: AI Courtroom Mock Battles

As many of you know, this semester my law students have the opportunity to write the lead memo for this newsletter, each tackling issues that they believe are both timely and intriguing for our readers. This week’s essay presents a fascinating experiment conducted by three students who explored how small law firms might leverage ChatGPT in a safe, effective manner. They set up ChatGPT to simulate a mock courtroom, even assigning it the persona of a Seventh Circuit Court judge to stage a courtroom dialogue. It’s an insightful take on the how adaptable technology like ChatGPT can offer unique advantages to smaller practices. They share other ideas as well. Enjoy!

Written by Sam Douthit, Aristotle Jones, and Derek Warzel.

Generative AI (GenAI) offers a unique opportunity to revolutionize the legal practice for solo and small law firms by amplifying the distinctive strengths of smaller practices. While many GenAI applications, like CoCounsel, Harvey AI, and Clio Duo, focus on addressing resource limitations—such as speeding up paralegal or administrative tasks—these solutions often don’t fully leverage the unique advantages of solo and small firms. 

 One exciting example is a "Courtroom Persona AI" tool, which could let solo practitioners simulate mock trials and practice arguments with AI that mimics specific judges, local courtroom customs, or procedural quirks. Small firms, with their deep understanding of local courts and judicial styles, could take full advantage of this tool to prepare more accurate and relevant arguments. Unlike big firms that have to spread resources across jurisdictions, solo and small firms could use this AI-driven feedback to tailor their strategies closely to local court dynamics, making their preparations sharper and more strategic. Plus, not all solo or small firms have someone to practice with or bounce their ideas off of. For these practitioners, it’s a chance to level up their trial preparation without needing large teams or costly mock trials, gaining a practical edge where it counts most. 

Some lawyers have already started to test this out, like the mock trial tested out here. One oversimplified and quick way to try this out is using the ChatGPT app.

We wanted to test this our ourselves.

Here is the prompt we gave ChatGPT. 

”You are a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals listening to an appeal regarding the file I have given you. I want you to create a persona based on the 7th Cir. Judge Easterbrook. I am going to argue to you as either appellant or appellate. During this argument, I am going to cut myself off at random points. During these points, I want you to interject with questions based on the material that you believe a judge would be asking. The questions may be related or unrelated to what I was talking about, but should mostly stay close to what I was discussing.”

We then handed ChatGPT our law school’s moot court competition problem from last year and began to go through our argument using the voice mode in the ChatGPT app. We would randomly stop in the middle of our argument in order to simulate being interrupted, and ChatGPT would, in turn, offer us a question. 

Click on the speakers below to hear the recording of our “argument” and the AI’s response.

Here’s the example prompt we provided through the app:

Here’s the example response that the AI responded with:

Another game-changing use of GenAI for solo and small firms is an AI-powered client Concierge that’s tailored to their needs. Small practices often develop close relationships with clients, which builds trust but also eats up a lot of time on routine updates and follow-ups. An AI concierge could step in as a virtual client liaison, handling day-to-day communications like responding to emails, sharing case updates, and answering frequently asked questions. This allows solo practitioners to keep clients happy without letting these tasks take over their schedule. While large firms might be able to use something similar, a small or solo firm can customize the concierge in ways that larger firms, with their broader client bases and less personalized approaches, might struggle to match.

To get started, firms could create individual GPTs for each client. Right now, many people use GenAI to draft client responses by creating a new GPT for each interaction and copying messages back and forth. But with custom GPTs designed for repeat use, each one pre-loaded with client preferences and case details, firms could automate a lot of these routine exchanges. This kind of concierge would allow small firms to offer a level of personalization that larger firms, with their broader client bases, might find tough to match. Going even further, these client-specific GPTs could help anticipate client responses and guide the best way to approach sensitive topics. Solo and small firms could leverage this tech to deepen client relationships without sacrificing billable time, creating more bandwidth for what matters most: high-quality legal work.

Solo and small firms often have a real advantage when it comes to handling local, region-specific legal issues because they know the area inside and out. Imagine a GenAI tool built specifically for local rules, regulations, and procedures—like those in small claims court—that could make research faster and more efficient. While big firms juggle cases across multiple jurisdictions, which makes it tough to customize AI for each area, small firms can lean into this localized AI to deliver pinpoint expertise. This kind of tool would give smaller practices a competitive edge, allowing them to offer clients precise, relevant knowledge about local legal standards that larger firms simply can’t match on the same level.

Finally, by using AI-driven tools, solo practitioners and small firms gain the freedom to offer more flexible payment options that big law firms often can’t match. When AI handles repetitive tasks like document drafting, legal research, and client communication, these smaller firms save valuable time and cut down costs. This efficiency lets them provide alternative fee structures like flat fees, subscription plans, or results-based pricing, giving clients more predictable, budget-friendly options. Clients value this kind of transparency and control over legal costs, and it sets small firms apart from big law, where traditional billing methods are harder to break away from. Embracing AI not only boosts productivity but also lets small firms meet client needs for affordability and flexibility in a way that’s both practical and competitive.

To Summarize: In an increasingly competitive legal landscape, solo practitioners and small law firms have an opportunity to leverage generative AI (GenAI) tools as a strategic equalizer. By adopting AI-driven technology tailored to the unique needs of smaller practices, solo and small firms can elevate their services, enhance client experiences, and amplify their competitive advantages without expanding their budgets drastically.

Starting with modest investments in these tailored GenAI tools allows small firms to strategically focus on areas where they have the most to gain: streamlined workflows, improved client engagement, and superior localized knowledge. Adopting AI doesn’t require immediate, large-scale transformation; rather, small firms can begin with accessible solutions—such as creating dedicated ChatGPT personas for mock trials or implementing AI concierges for regular client interactions. With manageable investments in these focused areas, solo and small practices can experience measurable returns, differentiating themselves through client experience and legal expertise that rivals larger firms.

Small law firms and solo practitioners have a true David-versus-Goliath opportunity to level the playing field with larger firms by investing in AI-driven legal tech. From speeding up document review to automating client interactions, the benefits are clear: higher efficiency, reduced costs, and increased client satisfaction. By adopting AI, smaller firms can remain competitive, create a modernized client experience, and ultimately see measurable financial returns that enhance the sustainability and growth of their practices.

Spotlight

🚨🔎 Using ChatGPT for research just got much better (and safer)

In this video, I put ChatGPT’s new search feature to the test as a legal research tool—and the results might surprise you! Lawyers are used to turning to Google or legal databases to get research started, but here, I explore what happens when ChatGPT takes on the job. I ran through scenarios from checking stock prices to pulling up case lists on AI and copyright law, and found that ChatGPT often serves as an efficient starting point. With click-through sources embedded right in the responses, it feels like a convenient middle ground between Google and dedicated legal databases. Reminder a few of my law students just wrote on this topic in 243 | 🤑💸 A $2000/hr paralegal? 

There are some quirks (like real-time data accuracy), but the broader question I wanted to address was whether this is an effective tool for preliminary research. Spoiler alert: it’s no replacement for Westlaw or Lexis, but for getting “off go,” it might just streamline that initial research stage.

Take a look at the video to see how ChatGPT’s new feature holds up—and feel free to share your thoughts on whether this would fit into your legal workflow!

AI Model Notables

► Meta build a robotic finger that has a true sense of touch. More info .

► “Sending a scent or a smell to someone via email or online chat is "going to happen" someday.” We also have “scent teleportation” where AI can now mimic and send smells.

► Anthropic’s Claude is now available via desktop apps on Macs and Windows and is also rolling out new dictation capabilities for mobile and iPad.

► Also from Anthropic . .

► Microsoft is recalling ‘Recall’ once again. The Copilot Plus ‘Recall’ launch will now be in December, marking the third delay this year as the company overhauls security and opt-in controls for the AI-powered screenshot system.

► Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said yesterday that the company's AI business will soon hit a $10 billion annual run rate, the fastest product category to reach that mark. But, its CFO says they will record a $1.5 billion loss this quarter due to its investment in OpenAI.

► Hey Gen X’ers (and older folks) Google just launched a new experimental tool called ‘Learn About,’ which you can think of AI-powered Encyclopedia Brittanica. It allows for AI-powered exploration of a range of topics via a conversational interactive interface.

► OpenAI brings a new web search tool to ChatGPT. The new tool puts OpenAI squarely in competition with the search giants, and will help fuel its next generation of AI agents.

► OpenAI introduced SimpleQA, a new factuality benchmark, and a study showing even GPT-4o struggles with accuracy, scoring below 40% on carefully curated fact-based questions.

News You Can Use:

➭ Robert Downey Jr. to sue Hollywood AI deepfakes of him, now and even after his death - the law firm representing him will be "very active" in serving lawsuits even after his death.

➭ US says ‘no’ to AI investments in China: The US is finalizing rules to stop US citizens from investing in the development of AI hardware and infrastructure in China and to prevent China from accessing the USA’s cutting-edge expertise and equipment. The rules will take effect from January 2nd and will stop specific transactions in semiconductors, microelectronics, and AI, and impose mandatory reporting requirements for transactions that aren’t banned.

➭ Using LLMs as your therapist.

➭ Delaware Attorney General writes “Dear OpenAI . . . you plan on doing what to your non-profit status?”

➭ Buddy.ai is using AI and gaming to help children learn English as a second language.

Who is the author, Josh Kubicki?

Some of you know me. Others do not. Here is a short intro. I am a lawyer, entrepreneur, and teacher. I have transformed legal practices and built multi-million dollar businesses. Not a theorist, I am an applied researcher and former Chief Strategy Officer, recognized by Fast Company and Bloomberg Law for my unique work. Through this newsletter, I offer you pragmatic insights into leveraging AI to inform and improve your daily life in legal services.