In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with Smokeball, we unpack where small law firms are at with their use and understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) and the importance of better utilising emerging technology to, among other things, save time. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Smokeball chief executive Hunter Steele about his passion for uplifting small law firms, the pace of change with AI relative to other market developments over the years, his headline observations about AI in the year that has been, how and why we remain in the “early adopter” phase, and the critical importance of ongoing education by and for practitioners about the relevance and place of such emerging technologies. Steele also reflects on lawyers’ increasing appreciation for how AI will and continues to upend daily operations, the extent to which lawyers are excited about these developments, what Smokeball is doing right now to support practitioners (including its focus on practice management), the nature of queries the provider receives, how clients are responding to their lawyers’ use of such platforms, what the advent and mainstreaming of AI says about the state of the legal market, and what excites him about the opportunities that lawyers will be able to grasp in the future. To learn more about Smokeball, click here.