Show Notes
At the intersection of AI and law, the ground is shifting faster than almost anyone can keep up with. Hosted by Irene Liu of Stanford Law School’s AI Initiative, AI Sidebar brings together leading academics, technologists, policymakers, lawyers, and industry leaders to unpack where AI is headed and what it means for law, business, society, and all of us.
From the heart of the Bay Area, where AI is being built, debated, and put to the test, the show cuts through the noise to unpack the biggest developments shaping law, business, society, and all of us. Each episode asks the questions that matter: Who is accountable when AI calls the shots, how should we regulate powerful new tools, and what skills will tomorrow’s lawyers need? AI Sidebar is a clear, timely guide to how AI is reshaping the law and how the law may shape the future of AI.
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More from AI Sidebar
How legal tech has evolved from workflow automation to AI-native tools, and what building AGI for law could mean for lawyers, legal engineering, and access to justice.
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
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
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?
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?