Artificial intelligence was front and center at the landmark 40th ABA Techshow
Ron Kneiser, an estate planning attorney in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, had never used artificial intelligence. But he claimed a table at the front of the conference room, grabbed his phone to take notes and settled into ABA Techshow 2025. He was ready to finally learn.
“The time is right to do it,” Kneiser said. “I’m trying to figure out who has really figured that out there who will make it simple for me.”
At the 40th annual ABA Techshow, which took place from April 2-5 from the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago for the first time, Kneiser had plenty of opportunities to learn. Over the four-day event, there was a record attendance of 2,118 individuals who heard from more than 80 scheduled speakers in a gigantic space full of incredibly eager vendors.
Also in attendance was Shelley Kester, an attorney and president of Wilson Kester, a family law practice based in Traverse City, Michigan. She said she dabbles in AI, but she had came to Techshow to see what else was available. She was specifically shopping for a new case management system and a contract life cycle management tool after growing the firm from four to 21.
“I was interested in hearing a lot of the AI presentations because it’s everywhere, but it’s going so fast,” Kester said. “How could anyone keep up?”
Many of the educational sessions and panels at the show were designed to help lawyers keep up with the fast-changing technology. One session, titled “Defining Technology Competency in the Age of Generative AI,” noted that generative AI can help lawyers be more productive and efficient, but it requires them to be more vigilant and cognizant of their ethical duties.
“If you’re thinking that your experience from earlier tools will transfer, you are going to be sorely mistaken,” said Ivy B. Grey, chief strategy and growth officer for WordRake, an editing software company.
Another session saw three judges hand down their verdict on AI: It’s a must-do to survive in law.
“In five years, you will be the one out of the practice because you’ve been left behind because you’re not using those tools,” said Judge Scott Schlegel, a judge for Louisiana’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal and a 2021 ABA Journal Legal Rebel. “If you’re not comfortable with it yet, write a poem, write a love song, figure out where you can go in Chicago over the next few days.” He likened attorneys who aren’t utilizing a paid AI service to soldiers going into battle with insufficient tools.
Level up
Indeed, AI was everywhere at Techshow. Generative AI loomed large over the Startup Alley pitch competition, underscoring how far the technology has come in a short amount of time, especially when it comes to using it to enhance, respond to and facilitate the best experiences for lawyers.
Two AI-powered programs tied for first place: Case Crafter, a timeline creation and trial presentation software product; and Querious, a real-time insights and aid tool for lawyers to use while communicating with clients. Other competitors included an AI-powered mediator, an AI-enhanced drafting tool and a research platform powered by generative AI.
But experts were clear that AI is not some miracle drug and warned that it can be easily abused or misused. Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini can hallucinate (meaning they can generate false or misleading information and present it as fact), making them especially dangerous for lawyers doing legal research.
“It knows just enough to be dangerous. It doesn’t realize yet that there isn’t always an answer. And it really wants to make you happy,” said Capital University Law School professor Jennifer Wondracek, who compared generative AI to a 1L summer associate. “So if you treat AI like you treat your 1L summer associate, make sure you’re checking your work.”
Deepfakes are another problematic area because anyone with access to someone’s voice can use it to create compelling evidence, either for or against them.
“This is what scares me and keeps me up at night,” Schlegel said, explaining that deepfakes could be used in sexual harassment claims, wrongful termination claims and domestic violence claims—the list is unlimited.
Ultimately, as the legal profession embraces these tools more, lawyers and legal professionals will need to become more knowledgable and competent about the features, benefits and drawbacks of AI.
Competency isn’t binary, said Kenton Brice, an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and director of its law library. People start out with unconscious incompetency—not knowing what they don’t know. After receiving some training, they become consciously incompetent—knowing they know enough to be dangerous, he added.
“Don’t stay there,” he said. “Level up.”
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