Generative
AI
burst
on
the
scene
and
bestowed
every
6th
grader
with
the
power
to
not
do
the
reading
and
turn
in
a
passable
one-page
essay
anyway.
It
also
provided
some
very
lazy
lawyers
with
some
very
embarrassing
moments.
That
said,
the
technology
held
out
so
much
promise
if
someone
could
pull
the
LSD
off
its
digital
tongue.
And
the
brightest
minds
in
legal
technology
have
thrown
a
lot
of
energy
and
money
into
solving
these
issues.
But
before
we
could
even
usher
in
the
era
of
legal
generative
AI,
we’ve
already
entered
the
Agentic
AI
era.
Like
LexisNexis’s
newly
launched
Protégé
AI
assistant,
which
is
commercially
available
today
following
a
previously announced
commercial
preview.
Since
that
preview,
LexisNexis
collaborated
with
more
than
50
customers on
the
development
of
Protégé.
The
result
is
an
agentic
AI
capable
of
autonomously
completing
tasks
based
on
user
goals.
“LexisNexis
is
focused
on
improving
outcomes
and
unlocking
new
levels
of
efficiency
and
value
in
legal
work
to
support
our
customers’
success,”
said
Sean
Fitzpatrick,
CEO
of
LexisNexis
North
America,
UK,
and
Ireland.
“Our
vision
is
for
every
legal
professional
to
have
a
personalized
AI
assistant
that
makes
their
life
better,
and
we’re
delighted
to
deploy
that
through
our
world-class,
fully
integrated
AI
technology
platform.”
While
it
sounds
like
a
method
for
figuring
out
the
next
inbred
failson
Habsburg
in
line,
Agentic
AI
is
the
next
development
in
AI
progression.
Where
generative
AI
wrote
your
homework
when
you
asked,
agentic
AI
looks
at
the
syllabus
and
figures
out
the
basic
tasks
that
need
to
be
done
before
the
term
paper.
In
a
legal
setting,
this
translates
a
system
that
completing
tasks
based
on
goals
without
constant
supervision.
On
top
of
that,
customization
options
allow
the
user
to
control
and
get
better
results
by
sharing
their
role,
practice
area,
jurisdiction,
and
style
preferences
to
ensure
the
drafting
style
and
output
are
highly
personalized.
This
would
be
welcome
news
for
any
lawyer
and
a
godsend
for
anyone
trying
to
manage
an
elite
practice
while
also
juggling
four
mistresses
and
a
globetrotting
underground
poker
career.
Lexis
Protégé
builds
on
earlier
AI
advances
like
Lexis+
AI,
which
prioritized
simple,
straightforward
usability.
Protégé
is
designed
to
integrate
directly
into
workflows,
providing
a
personalized
AI
experience
grounded
in
a
firm’s
own
document
management
system
and
drafting
style.
This
not
only
offers
a
fast-track
through
the
drudgery
—
generative
AI
tools
were
already
doing
that
—
but
assists
particularly
young
lawyers
by
taking
on
some
of
the
process-making
decisions
and
performing
the
next
steps
the
lawyer
needs
without
the
human
having
to
take
the
wheel.
And
with
tools
like
Protégé
proactively
improving
upon
its
own
outputs,
firms
should
reap
the
benefit
of
consistent,
high-quality
drafts
that
junior
lawyers
can
refine
rather
than
build
from
scratch.
Like
most
technology,
the
biggest
problem
with
generative
AI
—
well,
the
second
biggest
after
the
way
it
makes
stuff
up
by
design
—
remained
between
the
keyboard
and
the
chair.
It
can
only
deliver
results
as
good
as
the
query
the
lawyer
provides.
But
a
lot
of
the
tasks
firms
can
rely
upon
AI
to
perform
will
be
managed
by
the
most
inexperienced
attorneys.
Agentic
AI
tools
like
Protégé
aim
to
bridge
that
gap
by
knowing
what
the
user
wants
before
the
user
necessarily
knows
what
they
want
all
based
on
an
understanding
of
the
end
goal.
Just
the
thing
for
a
profession
that
historically
struggles
to
translate
tech
into
action.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.