Is AI ruining legal writing or are we teaching it wrong?

Jonah Perlin, who teaches first-year legal practice and advanced legal writing at Georgetown Law, joins TRI's Natalie Runyon to explore what it actually takes to build sound legal research, writing and judgment skills today, why he hasn't seen the skills degradation many fear, and how legal education needs to evolve so students learn to think like lawyers, not just prompt like one.

Why you should listen:

1. A contrarian, evidence-based take — While much of the discourse assumes AI is hollowing out legal skills, Perlin offers a firsthand classroom counter-narrative and explains how he verifies where AI reasoning breaks down, from faulty citations to unsupported arguments.
2. Lessons from history, applied to now — Perlin has studied how past technological shifts reshaped the legal profession, and now he translates those lessons into practical guidance for law schools and legal employers navigating AI adoption today.
3. A five-year forecast you can plan around — Drawing on his own classroom experience and conversations with lawyers across the profession, Perlin offers predictions on where legal research and writing pedagogy is headed, which is essential listening for legal educators, professors, and anyone hiring new associates.