AI Sidebar

What does it mean to build the next generation of legal technology when law firms, legal teams, and AI companies are all rethinking what lawyers can do?
In this episode of AI Sidebar, Irene Liu talks with Jason Boehmig, who leads Astra for Law, OpenAI’s legal vertical. Before joining OpenAI, Boehmig founded Ironclad, one of the companies that helped reshape modern legal technology.
Together, they discuss the evolution of legal tech and the future of AI in law. Boehmig reflects on the rise of legal engineering, the launch of Astra for Law, and what “AGI for law” could mean in practice. Irene and Jason also explore why keeping lawyers in the loop matters as AI becomes more capable, and how these tools could help lawyers deliver better service, expand access to legal help, and focus more on the judgment and guidance at the heart of lawyering.
Learn more about the Stanford Law School AI Initiative
Irene Liu, Executive Director of the Stanford Law School AI Initiative
Connect with Jason
Learn more about Astra for Law

Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:00:59) From Ironclad to OpenAI
(00:02:47) Legal Tech’s Evolution
(00:07:01) Law Firms and Legal Teams as Builders
(00:08:43) Introducing Astra for Law
(00:14:49) Early Access and Legal Tech Partners
(00:15:26) Accuracy, Trust, and Human Review
(00:18:44) Why Build at the Model Layer?
(00:21:09) The Rise of Legal Engineering
(00:28:56) Building AGI for Law
(00:31:08) Keeping Lawyers at the Center
(00:32:11) The Most Exciting Part of Building Astra for Law
(00:33:31) Conclusion

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As frontier AI becomes more powerful, how can society balance its extraordinary promise with the safeguards needed to use it responsibly?
In this episode of AI Sidebar, Irene Liu talks with Tom Lue, Vice President of Frontier AI Global Affairs at Google DeepMind and the company’s first general counsel, about the rapidly evolving global AI policy landscape. Lue discusses how AI policy has changed since he joined DeepMind, why shared standards and safety frameworks matter, and what it means to prepare for AGI. Irene and Tom also explore open models, public-private governance, and AI’s potential to advance science, health, education, and climate resilience while keeping humans at the center.
Link List:
Learn more about the Stanford Law School AI Initiative
Irene Liu, Executive Director of the Stanford Law School AI Initiative
Connect with Tom Lue
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:00:48) AI Policy Then and Now
(00:02:27) The Global AI Policy Landscape
(00:05:09) How AI Attitudes Differ Around the World
(00:07:01) Declining Attitudes Towards AI
(00:09:30) Frontier Safety, Frameworks, and Standards
(00:13:02) Public-Private Standards and the Role of Government
(00:15:35) Building a Global Framework
(00:17:37) Helping Policymakers Keep Pace
(00:20:30) Existing Law and AI Liability
(00:21:57) Open Models and Open Source Trade-Offs
(00:25:11) Balancing Open Models With Responsible Deployment
(00:26:17) Preparing for AGI
(00:27:43) What AGI Means for Legal and Policy Teams
(00:29:22) Optimism for the Future in the Age of AI
(00:31:58) Conclusion

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How is AI changing the legal hiring market, and what do lawyers need to do to stay competitive?
In this episode of AI Sidebar, Irene Liu talks with Anna Gorodetsky, a partner at Major, Lindsey & Africa who oversees in-house counsel recruiting, about what law firms and legal departments are looking for in the age of AI. Gorodetsky shares what she is seeing in the market, from new AI innovation roles at law firms to the pressure on in-house teams to do more with technology. Irene and Anna also discuss the practical AI experience employers increasingly expect, what practicing lawyers and law students can do to stand out, and why judgment, communication, trust, and business context remain central to great lawyering.
Link List:
Learn more about the Stanford Law School AI Initiative
Irene Liu, Executive Director of the Stanford Law School AI Initiative
Connect with Anna Gorodetsky
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:01:03) The Legal Hiring Market in the Age of AI
(00:03:29) Layoffs, Freezes, and Legal Team Restructuring
(00:05:31) Pressure on In-House Teams
(00:07:30) The Rise of the “Lawyer Plus” Profile
(00:08:49) AI Skills and Compensation
(00:11:28) What Have You Built With AI?
(00:14:22) AI in the Interview Process
(00:16:27) How Lawyers Can Stay Competitive
(00:19:48) New AI Roles at Law Firms
(00:21:43) Where Firms Are Finding AI Talent
(00:24:30) What AI Innovation Leaders Need to Succeed
(00:26:59) Preparing Law Students for an AI-Driven Market
(00:29:26) What Makes Top Candidates Stand Out
(00:32:20) How Candidates Can Become More Marketable
(00:34:53) The Future of Legal Hiring
(00:38:08) Conclusion

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What does open source AI really mean, why does it matter, and what should legal and business leaders be thinking about as the landscape continues to evolve?

In this episode of AI Sidebar, Irene Liu talks with Heather Meeker, an internationally recognized open source software licensing expert, partner at TechLaw Partners, co-founder of Chinstrap Community, and author of Open Source for Business. Meeker explains why open source AI is harder to define than open source software, how open weights differ from truly open models, and why that distinction matters for lawyers advising companies on how these tools can be used. Irene and Heather also explore what legal and business leaders should know as open weight models enter organizations, from licensing and governance to security, transparency, and public trust.

Learn more about the Stanford Law School AI Initiative

Irene Liu, Executive Director of the Stanford Law School AI Initiative

Connect with Heather Meeker

Pre Order your copy of Open Source for Babies



Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:01:14) What Does Open Source AI Mean?

(00:05:52) Open Source vs. Open Weights

(00:07:38) Why Open Source AI Is Having Its Moment

(00:09:44) Are Any AI Models Truly Open Source?

(00:10:25) Chinese Models and the Competitive Landscape

(00:11:49) Governing Open Weights in Organizations

(00:14:08) Compliance Tools and Shadow AI

(00:15:25) How Legal Teams Can Help, Not Block

(00:17:06) Security and Governance for Chinese Models

(00:19:00) Why Legal and IT Need to Work Together

(00:20:24) Sharing AI Best Practices

(00:21:21) The Open Weights Policy Debate

(00:23:15) Are Open Models Riskier?

(00:25:14) Transparency, Safety, and Linus’s Law

(00:27:27) The Regulatory Landscape

(00:30:35) Open Source for Babies

(00:33:11) How Lawyers Can Keep Up

(00:37:21) Conclusion

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What does it take to build a good AI-native law firm when the goal is not just efficiency, but giving lawyers more leverage, more agency, and more space for the human judgement at the heart of legal work? 

In this episode of AI Sidebar, Irene Liu talks with Ryan Daniels, co-founder and CEO of Crosby AI and a Stanford Law School alum, about what he’s learned building an AI-native law firm focused on commercial contracts. Daniels explains what “AI-native” means in practice, how Crosby differs from both a traditional law firm and a legal tech company, and why it remains, at its core, a law firm. Irene and Ryan also explore how AI can take on repetitive legal work, reshape the law firm business model, and make this an especially exciting time for lawyers who want to innovate.

Learn more about the Stanford Law School AI Initiative

Irene Liu, Executive Director of the Stanford Law School AI Initiative

Connect with Ryan Daniels

Learn more about Crosby

 

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:00:53) What Is an AI-Native Law Firm?

(00:02:39) Why Build a Law Firm Instead of Legal Tech?

(00:03:33) Why Commercial Contracts?

(00:04:54) Pricing by Deal, Not by Hour

(00:06:34) Measuring Human Review Time

(00:07:46) Designing AI Around Lawyers

(00:10:44) Keeping Lawyers in Control

(00:12:22) Building Empathy Between Engineers and Lawyers

(00:14:53) Lawyers, Engineers, and the Identity of an AI-Native Firm

(00:16:31) Finding Lawyers for a New Model

(00:18:15) Why Great Lawyers May Become More Valuable

(00:19:50) Why Clients Try Crosby

(00:20:53) The Future of AI-Native Law Firms

(00:21:37) Defining Quality in Legal AI

(00:22:30) Why This Is an Exciting Time to Build

(00:23:18) Advice for Lawyers and Law Students

(00:25:05) Conclusion

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