A few months ago, people were asking whether not using AI could ever be malpractice. Now, that question feels a lot less theoretical.
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Shannon Boettjer, partner at Jaspan Schlesinger Narendran LLP, for a sharp, practical conversation on AI governance, legal risk, and what it means to build defensible systems before technology decisions turn into lawsuits.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the AI conversation shifted from “should we use it?” to “how do we use it responsibly?”
• How the knife vs. kitchen analogy helps firms understand different levels of AI complexity
• Why AI governance should start with a risk-benefit analysis, not a checkbox list
• Why hallucinations are better understood as common side effects, not random surprises
• How “parallel from the start” can help firms avoid bad habits that compound at scale
• Why AI literacy is only the starting point, and AI fluency is the real goal
• Why lawyers need to understand the tools their teams, co-counsel, and vendors are using
• Why machines require a zero-trust approach, while humans require trust but verify

This episode is a clear-eyed look at legal AI adoption and the actual governance work required when lawyers start putting powerful tools into everyday practice.

Highlights:

00:00 Introduction

01:19 Is It Malpractice Not to Use AI?

02:56 AI as a Tool: The Knife vs. Kitchen Analogy

05:04 Why Basic AI Skills Are Becoming Expected

07:17 Today’s Design Decisions Become Tomorrow’s Liability Theories

07:36 The Pharmaceutical Lens for AI Governance

09:40 Why EDRM Is an Underused AI Governance Framework

10:18 Choosing the Right Tool for the Right Pain Point

13:10 Why Human Review Still Matters

14:50 AI Literacy vs. AI Fluency

16:21 Lessons From Legal Week

16:43 Common Side Effects and Rare but Serious Risks

18:36 The “Parallel From the Start” Framework

20:16 Why “Grab It and Go” AI Adoption Creates Risk

20:47 The First Question Every AI Strategy Should Ask

23:51 Why End Users Need to Be in the AI Conversation

26:02 Data Governance, Privacy and Cybersecurity in AI Use

29:48 How Firms Should Assess Their AI Maturity

33:17 Why Old Technology Problems Keep Reappearing

37:17 Applying Existing Legal Duties to AI

38:03 Trust Humans, Zero Trust Machines

41:05 Where Legal AI Is Heading Next

47:18 The Cognitive Cost of Working With Machines

49:31 Shannon’s Hot Take: Personal Knowledge Management

52:02 The Swiss Cheese Problem in AI Governance

54:03 Closing Thoughts

Quotes:

1. “AI is a tool, and I think of it in terms of something like a knife.”
2. “Every layer of AI potentially solves a problem and potentially creates risks.”
3. “Start with literacy with the end goal of being fluent.”
4. “Trust but verify your human colleagues. I would hold a different standard for working with machines: zero trust.”

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so