AI Tools Podcast

The biggest AI mistake in a small law firm may have nothing to do with legal work. HR strategist Natalie Dalton explains why solo lawyers with outsourced paralegals, offshore assistants, and AI-written handbooks still need a people plan, and why you should diagnose your practice before you digitize it. Plug AI into a broken process and all you get is a broken process that runs faster.

034 Episode 034 Jane Jetson’s Book Club and the Demise of Prompting (54 min)

Everyone says AI needs a human in the loop, but nobody explains why human judgment is actually better than a machine trained on more data than any lawyer will ever see. Maura Grossman, the researcher who proved machine learning could beat lawyers at document review, explains why culture, morals, and wisdom stay human, why harsh sanctions haven't stopped hallucinations, and why generative AI's hyped advantage in e-discovery disappears under a fair test. Then Heather declares prompting dead, and Ron and Maura push back.

033 Episode 033 The AI Has Left The Building (50 min)

The safest AI for your client files might be the one that knows nothing about the outside world. AI pioneer Jonathan Schaeffer makes the case for Kind, a desktop AI that answers only from your own files, and Ron and Heather test whether that walled garden holds. Then the conversation turns to AI agents that broke out of their own walls this summer, and why Jonathan thinks it will take a disaster before anyone acts.

032 Episode 032 Workflow Options: BK Fastlane (58 min)

Every bankruptcy software vendor is about to tell you their product uses AI. The real question is what the AI is allowed to do without you. Colorado bankruptcy attorney Matt McCune gives a live first look at BK Fastlane, from the debtor's secure intake portal to AI document review and automated chase lists. One rule holds throughout: no document moves and no email goes out until a lawyer approves it.

031 Episode 031 AI and Access to Justice (50 min)

The AI companies never asked permission to give legal advice. They just started doing it, and legal aid lawyers are now cleaning up 20-page chatbot pleadings while their own safe tools wait on a UPL waiver. Reena Shah of the Maryland Access to Justice Commission joins Ron and Heather to lay out what Maryland is building, what it's asking regulators for, and why the real question isn't how AI helps lawyers but how many more people lawyers can reach because of it.

Field Note

Field Note: Materials from NACBA's "Me, Myself & AI" Webinar (8 min)

Most CLE materials make sense in the room and mean nothing six months later. This time NACBA gave Ron permission to post the real thing — prompt libraries, working AI skills, and a four-lawyer roadmap from bankruptcy attorneys who use them in live cases. Download the materials, then pick where you're actually going to start.

Your hosts

About the show

Ron Drescher

Attorney & Host

After more than 40 years in the trenches of bankruptcy law, Ron Drescher has seen legal practice evolve from paper and fax machines to cloud software—and now to artificial intelligence.

He’s not a technologist. He’s a practicing lawyer who understands how law firms actually work—and where they break.

Through his podcast, AI Tools for Practicing Lawyers, Ron helps attorneys move beyond hype and confusion to practical, ethical use of AI in their day-to-day work. His focus is on what matters: tools that save time, improve client service, and fit within the realities of legal practice.

If you’re trying to figure out what AI actually means for your practice, Ron is the guide who speaks your language.

Heather Gardner

Co-Host & Founder, Propel Paralegal Services

Heather Gardner is the Founder and CEO of Propel Paralegal Services, a virtual legal support company providing experienced bankruptcy paralegal services to attorneys nationwide. She has spent her career working extensively with consumer bankruptcy practices, supporting debtor-focused Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases through every stage of the bankruptcy process.

An early adopter of AI in legal practice — from GPT to Spellbook — Heather uses AI extensively in content marketing, workflow development, and creating SOPs. She frequently speaks on practical ways attorneys can use AI tools for drafting, business operations, and everyday practice management.

40+

Years in Law

1000s

Cases Handled

Weekly

New Episodes