Mengxuan Wang Discusses AI Adoption in Legal Practice with Law.com

Adams & Reese Houston Associate Mengxuan Wang spoke with Jon Campisi from Law.com about how associates are using generative AI in their legal work, and why many see it as a benefit rather than a threat to their jobs. The article, "Associates Are On the Front Lines of AI Use. For Those Opting In, Promise Trumps Fear," explores how Big Law is thinking about and incorporating legal AI into everyday practice.

A member of the firm's Global Intellectual Property Practice, Wang advises international and domestic clients on trademark and brand protection, anticounterfeiting, copyright, right of publicity, and the legal implications of emerging technologies such as AI. Her experience includes trademark counseling, prosecution, enforcement, and portfolio management, as well as trademark litigation in federal court, proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and domain enforcement before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The article opens by noting that associates have the most hands-on experience with legal technology, which may make them the best indicator of whether generative AI tools will deliver in law firms. Campisi interviewed associates from several national firms, noting that the majority expressed enthusiasm rather than fear. Overall, the associates said generative AI has helped their work, especially as bugs have been fixed and hallucinations have become less frequent. Those views contrast with a recent Law.com survey in which 53% of nearly 3,000 midlevel associates said they were concerned that AI will lead to job losses.

The article notes that associates in transactional and litigation practices view AI differently. Transactional associates have mostly been pleased with the technology. As Wang put it, AI “is really making our lives a lot easier." Litigators have more mixed opinions, but they say recent improvements give them more confidence than before.

Associates at other firms described efficiency gains in drafting, contract markups, and document review, along with strong firm training programs. Litigation associates at another firm stressed the importance of verifying AI output. They also said firm leadership has been open to their feedback. Innovation leaders and legal education experts raised a related concern: as AI becomes part of everyday workflows, younger lawyers still need to develop their own legal judgment.

Wang told Campisi that she appreciates that Adams & Reese gives lawyers the chance to try a range of AI platforms to see what works best. She also joined other associates in rejecting the concern that AI will replace young associates. Their view: sound human legal judgment will always be needed. "[Being] an attorney is a profession that you do hold some responsibilities to your client, and AI cannot take that responsibility," Wang said. "[It's] the human that's eventually doing all this fact checking and to be there to be responsible for the client."

To read the full article from Law.com, click here: Associates Are On the Front Lines of AI Use. For Those Opting In, Promise Trumps Fear