ABA President discusses ABA Day, America’s 250th, and the problems lawyers must solve

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WASHINGTON - American Bar Association (ABA) President Michelle Behnke appears on a new episode of the Legal Services Corporation's (LSC) podcast, "Talk Justice." LSC President Ron Flagg speaks with Behnke about America's 250th anniversary, legal deserts, artificial intelligence (AI) and building support for civil legal services.

In February, Behnke spoke at the ABA's Midyear Meeting. She spoke about the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and reflected on the role that lawyers have historically played in solving big problems and mediating differences. On the podcast, Flagg asked Behnke to elaborate on her remarks, which called on lawyers to re-commit to engaging in constructive discussions. Behnke emphasized the importance of leaning into curiosity.

"When I have asked people, 'help me understand how you think about this,' I've often-not always-but often found that my perception [of their intent] was not exactly spot on," said Behnke. "As lawyers, we're really good at going to the argument, but I think if we take a beat and ask the questions and we're more curious, we're actually likely to be a little better at the problem solving."

One of the major problems that lawyers, governments and courts are working to solve are legal deserts-areas with few or no attorneys providing client services. Behnke explained that adaptability is key, and that new models that do not rely on one lawyer representing one person are necessary to pursue.

"I don't think there's one solution for how we do this, but I do think that lawyers have to be open to looking for the variety of solutions," said Behnke. "We can't simply say, 'we've always done it this way' ... There just aren't enough lawyers to go around."

Behnke said that deploying AI may be one approach to increasing access to legal help. She said she has seen a rapid change in lawyers' awareness of AI in the last few years, and she believes that the ABA must help lawyers understand AI's limitations, while also providing guidance on its effective and ethical use, so that the profession doesn't fall behind.

"The ABA's role is to help lawyers understand what [AI's] shortcomings are, how to use it, how to keep your client's information confidential," Behnke said. "[How to] uphold all those rules that at its core, we believe to be important for the practice of law, but to get with the program, so to speak, to keep progressing as technology progresses."

ABA Day will bring national, state and local bar members to Capitol Hill at the end of March to meet with members of Congress and raise issues of importance to lawyers. For decades, a primary focus of ABA Day has been championing strong federal investment in civil legal assistance.

"From my vantage point, the most important [message] to help our congressional members understand is that that investment is not a handout," said Behnke. "It's an investment in our system of government."

"[I try to] show them how a lack of representation, a lack of assistance, actually affects not just the people that are in the courtroom or that are seeking the assistance, but the entire system."

To hear more from this conversation with Behnke, listen to the full episode of Talk Justice online, on Spotify, YouTube or Apple Podcasts. The podcast is sponsored by LSC's Leaders Council.