One morning in February, Mark Lanier awoke after just four hours of sleep, gearing up to cross-examine one of the richest individuals globally: Mark Zuckerberg.
His legal team had worked tirelessly throughout the night, assembling materials for the day's proceedings which he could review before stepping into the courtroom, thanks in part to the capabilities of AI.
Lanier, a prominent Texas trial attorney known for tackling high-profile corporate cases, represented the plaintiff in a pivotal lawsuit concerning social media addiction. He noted that AI significantly enhanced his team's productivity during the limited preparation time they had outside of court, which spanned more than a month.
"It's like having 10 extra highly-trained assistants who are intimately familiar with the case details, working around the clock without needing breaks for restrooms or even paid time off," Lanier shared with Business Insider. "In the 10 hours I might spend on prep outside court, I can effectively achieve the output of 30 hours."
While AI's role in the legal sector is often regarded with both enthusiasm and caution—due to concerns over inaccuracies and invented citations—Lanier described the technology as a "complete game changer" for his practice.
He ultimately triumphed in the case against Meta and Google, with the jury deeming the companies negligent for failing to warn that their platforms posed dangers. The plaintiff was awarded $6 million, marking a significant precedent for numerous similar lawsuits targeting social media firms.
Lanier emphasized that AI has revolutionized his approach before and during trials. Among the various AI tools available, he found Boodlebox to be exceptional, likening it to "Disney World compared to a swing set in the backyard."
Boodlebox is a leader in educational technology, providing access to AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, enabling users to toggle between different systems for comparisons. The platform supports collaboration, allowing Lanier and his legal team to seamlessly integrate their work with AI in a shared digital space.
Together with Boodlebox, Lanier developed a bespoke license that costs him six figures annually, designed specifically to suit his unique requirements.
"We're essentially funneling my 42 years of experience and insights into the AI’s framework that guides my queries and outputs," he remarked.
Lanier is judicious in discussing the specifics of his AI usage, referring to it as "trade craft" and noting that his firm is implementing innovative strategies that are not yet common practice.
For example, he described how he utilized daily court transcripts and tasked different AI models with analyzing them. He also leveraged AI to find more imaginative ways to present arguments in court. Moreover, he would examine jury notes during deliberations to understand their thought processes better.
Each day, after court, the team would convene in his "war room" to debrief and assign tasks, such as identifying the five most crucial documents for a particular argument. They often conducted this work in Boodlebox, which allowed Lanier to review the assembled materials and their organization. He noted that he and his team, including several daughters, spent countless hours on the platform.
While most Boodlebox users are large educational institutions, a company representative indicated that they are also tapping into the legal sector, partly due to their collaboration with Lanier.
Lanier clarified that he does not utilize AI in a way that could lead to mistakes. "I won't simply instruct, 'Conduct my research and draft my brief,'" he stated, acknowledging that there was an instance in the case where AI incorrectly cited a source from the record.
"It's not without oversight," he emphasized. "You play a critical role in the process."
For fellow attorneys looking to incorporate AI into their practices, he advised staying informed on the constant advancements within this rapidly changing arena. He has established an AI team in his firm that provides him with a weekly report summarizing developments in AI, typically spanning three single-spaced pages.
"As I prepare for my next trial, I intend to make what I accomplished this time look like a relic from the Stone Age," he declared.
