Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) congratulates Professor Erin Corken on the recent publication of her two-part scholarly series, The Two Letters That Matter Most in the Future of Legal Practice: And They’re Not What You Think — Automation Bias, ABA Formal Opinion 512, and the Emerging Ethical Framework for AI-Assisted Legal Work, published in PLI Current: The Journal of PLI Press, Vol. 10 (2026).
The two-part series examines the ethical responsibilities of legal professionals using artificial intelligence in legal practice, with particular attention to automation bias, ABA Formal Opinion 512, the evolving sanctions landscape surrounding AI misuse, and the practical considerations attorneys must address when incorporating AI tools into their work.
In Part I, Corken explores the technology underlying generative and agentic AI, the cognitive risks associated with automation and confirmation bias, and the ethical duties implicated by AI-assisted legal work. The article provides an in-depth examination of ABA Formal Opinion 512 and its application to professional obligations involving competence, confidentiality, communication, candor toward the tribunal, supervision, and fees.
Part II examines the consequences when those obligations are not followed, beginning with Mata v. Avianca and tracing the increasing sanctions imposed in cases involving AI-generated errors. Corken then turns to the human dimension of AI use, including the potential erosion of professional expertise and the importance of independent judgment and what she describes as “inner knowing.” The article concludes with practical guidance for attorneys, emphasizing jurisdiction-specific requirements, organizational AI policies, human oversight, and independent verification of AI-generated work.
Corken’s scholarship emphasizes a central principle: AI can assist legal professionals, but it cannot replace the professional judgment and accountability of the attorney. Her analysis encourages practitioners to approach AI-assisted work with careful verification and a willingness to reject unreliable output when necessary.
The abstract for the two-part series reads:
“This two-part series discusses the ethical framework, challenges, and professional obligations surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in legal practice. The article analyzes automation bias, ABA Formal Opinion 512, evolving sanctions for AI misuse, and provides practical guidance for legal professionals to responsibly integrate AI tools while maintaining ethical standards and competence.
Everyone in the legal profession is talking about two letters: AI. But the two letters that matter most in the future of legal practice are not AI. They are NO, the most underused and most essential word in the age of artificial intelligence. This article examines why, through the lens of automation bias, ABA Formal Opinion 512 (July 29, 2024), a rapidly growing body of sanctions case law, state bar ethics opinions, and court rules. As of June 2026, more than thirty states have issued formal AI ethics guidance, courts from the Southern District of Texas to the Ninth Circuit have developed local rules and issued landmark decisions, and the sanctions for AI-related errors have grown from modest fines to professional suspensions and disqualifications. Automation bias, the cognitive tendency at the root of nearly every ethical failure in AI-assisted legal practice, runs through all of it. This article provides a complete analysis of Opinion 512, a survey of the evolving landscape since its issuance, practical guidance for practitioners, and a framework for understanding why the most important professional skill in the age of AI is not knowing how to use the technology. It is knowing when to say no to what it tells you.”
Professor Corken’s scholarship reflects her interdisciplinary experience in law, legal technology, e-discovery, privacy, and cybersecurity. She is an attorney licensed in Kentucky and Arizona, a law professor and scholar, and a Senior Solutions Engineer and Academic Program Developer at Exterro. A former law clerk to the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Corken has taught E-Discovery and Information Privacy and Cybersecurity at the law school level for more than a decade, along with Business Law at the undergraduate level. She has also presented at bar associations, paralegal organizations, and legal technology conferences nationwide, including PLI.
Through this two-part series, Corken contributes to the growing body of legal scholarship addressing the professional and ethical implications of artificial intelligence and offers practitioners a framework for maintaining human judgment and professional responsibility in an increasingly AI-assisted legal profession.