March 2026 by Cliff McKinney |
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Borg, a species augmented with artifical intelligence, give a chilling ultimatum to every civilization they encounter: “You will be assimilated.” The warning is terrifying because it suggests not destrution, but absorption with the loss of independence to a relentless collective.
For lawyers, the rise of artificial intelligence carries a similar threat of assimilation. Artifical intelligence is already entering law practice, whether lawyers welcome it or not. The real question is not if lawyers will be assimilated into a future integrated with artificial intelligence, but how they will use these tools without sacrificing judgement, ethics, or client trust.
This installment explores the best practices for responsible adoption: protecting client confidentiality, addressing AI openly in engagement letters, learning the skill of prompt engineering, and preparing for the workforce changes AI will accelerate. Assimilation may be inevitable, but the terms of assimilation, ethical, careful, client-centered, are still within the control of the profession.
The above is an excerpt of an article published for Arkansas Law Notes. This is the fourth installment of a ten-part series on the use of artificial intelligence in the legal profession. You may click the link below to read the full article.
A managing member of Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC, Cliff McKinney speaks nationwide on the rapidly evolving role of AI in law practice, covering cutting-edge tools, prompt engineering, ethical obligations, risk management, and actionable strategies lawyers can implement immediately. He has presented for organizations including the American Bar Association (ABA), the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL), the American College of Mortgage Attorneys (ACMA), and has written extensively on AI for ACMA, USLAW, and the Arkansas Law Review. Mr. McKinney holds a Prompt Engineering Specialization certification from Vanderbilt University and is a Fellow of both the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and the American College of Mortgage Attorneys.