April 2026 by Cliff McKinney |
I’m trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it. -Morpheus, The Matrix.
I assume none of my former law professors will read this article. If they do, I imagine I will get into trouble with this statement: I have never liked the Socratic Method of teaching. Answering a question with another question doesn’t help me learn; it just irritates me. However, I would have been a better student if I had learned to appreciate the method more, as it has been the stalwart teaching technique in law school for decades. Whether I like it or not, the Socratic Method forces creative and critical thinking by challenging ideas rather than spoon-feeding answers.
The next prompt engineering method we are going to evaluate could be considered a form of the Socratic Method. The flipped interactive prompting method asks the artificial intelligence model to ask clarifying questions in response to a prompt, thereby refining and deepening the analytical quality of an answer. This method can be especially useful in litigation or when an issue is controversial or subject to multiple interpretations.
After exploring prompt engineering, we will then turn to perspective switching. Perspective switching allows the artificial intelligence model to switch between different viewpoints or roles. For instance, the model might start by acting as plaintiff’s counsel, then switch to analyze its own arguments from the perspective of defendant’s counsel or a judge.
Lastly, we will discuss options for tying all of the techniques together to maximize interactions with artificial intelligence.
The above is an excerpt of an article published for Arkansas Law Notes. This is the final 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.