IP Law Daily, STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES: Safe, effective adoption of AI by law firms discussed at ABA summit, (May 28, 2026)
Law Firms Mentioned:Cornerstone Tech and Estate Advisors, PLLC | Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation
Attorneys and legal technology leaders shared information at the virtual event on the best ways to manage the transformations and disruptions that come with embracing AI tools.
At the “2026 AI and the Practice of Law Summit,” hosted virtually by the American Bar Association on May 18-19, accomplished lawyers and legal technology leaders convened to discuss the effective adoption and use of generative artificial intelligence tools in legal practice. Some of the summit’s highlights are described in a Strategic Perspectives article.
The article summarizes key points made by David M. Fogg, founder and principal attorney of Cornerstone Tech and Estate Advisors, PLLC, in his talk about changes to law firm pricing and billing practices that have been prompted by the proliferation of AI. Fogg predicts the imminent demise of the billable hour as the standard method of charging clients, and he describes a product-based pricing model more suited to an “AI-intelligent” firm.
Also discussed are remarks by Makalika Naholowa’a, Executive Director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, who spoke to the benefits of AI to law firms and clients, while cautioning that smaller firms and organizations are at risk of being priced out of the market for enterprise AI tools. She also emphasized the importance of such ethical considerations as client confidentiality, competence, and fee reasonableness.
Finally, the article looks at a talk on agentic AI in legal operations, led by Pegeen Turner, President of Legal Cloud Technology. Turner compared AI agents to eager summer interns who are bright and capable but who need supervision. She explained that AI agents are useful for low-level, repetitive tasks—which they can perform tirelessly—but good processes must be in place for them to have good results. Along with the need for humans in the loop providing “direction” to the tools, she stressed the importance of structuring data to accommodate the AI. “If your workflows are still up here [pointing to her head] and not written down, then you might not quite be ready for an AI agent,” Turner cautioned.
The Strategic Perspectives article, titled “Attorneys, tech experts give tips on integration of AI into legal practices at ABA virtual summit,” is available here.
Attorneys: David M. Fogg (Cornerstone Tech and Estate Advisors, PLLC). Makalika Naholowa’a (Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation).
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