How legal professionals are using AI with Judge Erica R. Yew

What specific task or workflow in your practice, chambers, or studies has AI changed most dramatically, and what does that look like day-to-day?

For me in my current assignment, which is treatment court, there have been no changes.

When you're using AI tools for legal research or drafting, how do you verify the output? What's your process for catching hallucinations or errors?

When I am researching something, I treat the initial response as the preliminary output. I look up the statutes and cases cited in the output and I read them to make sure they are relevant and on point. We adhered to the same high standard when we used more traditional research tools, so the standard of practice has not changed. I think we have been lulled into over reliance upon answers provided by computer searches. We have been able to largely rely on search results using Lexis and Westlaw. We rely on computer searches to tell us which hotels and restaurants to visit. We rely on computer searches for driving directions. This current shift in our view of the trustworthiness of AI generated computer output is perhaps a good check on what might have been an over reliance on computer generated search results.

Have you encountered a situation where AI led you astray or gave you problematic advice? What happened and what did you learn?

Not yet!

How are you thinking about confidentiality and data security when using AI tools? What guardrails have you put in place?

I have been hesitant to use some tools because I do not want to introduce personal photos into an unprotected internet space. I use the privacy protections for each tool or app that I use and I revisit those selections occasionally to ensure that the privacy protections remain at the highest level.

What kind of legal work do you think AI will never be able to do well, and why?

I definitely think that AI will never be able to replace the human beings in a treatment court. The judge, justice partners, service providers and other team members all bring a human element into the courtroom that is healing and supportive of the litigants and their families in a way that can never be replicated by AI. Same thing for other case types, such as criminal, family, dependency and probate, where victim advocates, counselors, therapists, peer mentors, coaches, mediators, social workers and other justice partners work with judges and attorneys to serve litigants well and holistically. I personally also believe that AI will never be able to take the place of jurors. There may be, however, people who would not agree with me on that one!

How has AI affected your professional relationships in terms of what services or work you provide, how you communicate, or what others expect from you?

It has enhanced my professional relationships. For example, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with judges, professors, lawyers and other professionals through the National Center for State Courts to explore ways to support courts and those whom we serve as the court system comes to terms with AI as the newest tool available to all of us. Check out the TRI/NCSC AI Policy Consortium for Law & Courts at Artificial intelligence (AI) | National Center for State Courts. Many helpful tools exist including bench cards and an AI Sandbox in which people can experiment with AI search tools. I think the courts should be commended. Courts have not always been at the forefront of addressing litigants' needs, unfortunately. For example, we are still doing our best to provide language access to all litigants for all case types. But the National Center has really taken a leadership role to get ahead of people's concerns with AI and the consortium's website is a treasure trove of tools for understanding when and where AI can be used reliably and effectively in the legal system.

If someone just entering the legal profession asked you how to think about AI in their career development, what would you tell them?

I would say, AI is here to stay and make sure you go to the TRI/NCSC website for guidance!