You can measure the success of a great conference by what lands on your Monday to-do list. On October 18 in Irvine, the three Southern California WiE chapters delivered exactly that in the WiE SoCal Tech Conference: clear learning, practical takeaways, and meaningful connections. The focus was on real-world AI applications in legal workflows.
Learn. Leverage. Lead. Level Up.
From ethical guidance to prompt writing, from candid career advice to collaborative strategies, this event favored substance over buzzwords. Judges, in-house leaders, outside counsel, sponsors, and data professionals all shared useful insights. Attendees left with checklists, new contacts, and at least one workflow to test immediately—grounded in the 3Cs: Competence, Confidence, and Credibility.
That was WiE SoCal’s playbook: content that’s practical, repeatable, and ready for Monday.
Every session delivered actionable strategies and created real momentum.
The caliber of voices made the difference.
From the bench to the boardroom, this roster speaks for itself: e.g. U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard; Heather Rosing, a leading trial and ethics authority; Ruth C. Hauswirth of Cooley, a pioneer in litigation and eDiscovery leadership; Cat Casey, chief growth officer at Reveal; and Maribel Rivera at ACEDS. These are builders and decision makers who shape policy, run complex programs, and try cases, which is why every session delivered substance you can use.
Now to the sessions and the takeaways you can put to work.
Four sessions. Four perspectives. One goal.
AI should make legal work clearer, faster, and more defensible. The following field notes focus on putting the 3Cs into action.
“You are a creative person.” Ruth Hauswirth
“Be intentional.” Mary Gibbs
LEARN | Everyday AI That Actually Helps
Voices: Cat Casey, Julia Helmer, Kristin Sunderman
This session examined familiar tools legal professionals rely on, including Microsoft 365, case workflows, and the volume of emails, notes, and transcripts. The message was clear. Master the basics. AI should support human reasoning and decision making, not replace it.
Key Insights
- Use AI as a teammate to streamline tasks
- For example, instead of reading emails twice, ask AI to summarize first, then take action
- Know your systems and use internal tools to manage unstructured data like notes
- Keep client data secure. Never store it in unapproved external tools or systems
- Prioritize workflows that affect revenue, risk, or reputation
Reminders
- Always validate AI outputs. Do not let the system run without oversight
- Pursue efficiency with care. Speed is meaningless without quality
LEVERAGE | Prompting as a Legal Skill
Voices: Miranda Camozzi, Mary Gibbs, Yvonne Ike
Effective prompting is about giving clear and structured instructions. The best prompts are concise, task-based, and easy to review. Think of them like short legal briefs.
Prompt Format
- Role: Identity or Task
- Goal and Output: Instructions
- Inputs: References or Examples you want it to use
- Constraints: Context and any rules or limits that apply
- Checks: Evaluate step where the work is verified
- Iterate: Revise and resubmit after the check
Mary Gibbs explained this with a peanut butter and jelly example. Vague prompts might lead someone to place an entire jar on the bread or forget to open the lid before spreading. Precision avoids confusion and improves results.
What Worked Well
- Eliminate unnecessary words. Be direct
- Use meta-prompting. (e.g., prompts that prompt better prompting.)
- Ask for transparency. Request sources, steps, and assumptions
- Know your model. Each interprets instructions differently. Save the versions that work well
Guardrails
- Check for privilege issues and verify names and citations
- Never paste confidential information into non-secure or unapproved external tools.
- Treat AI outputs as untrusted until reviewed
LEVEL UP | Careers in the Age of Intelligent Tools
Moderator: Maribel Rivera
Voices: Ruth Hauswirth, Janet Sperling, Emerald Yeo
Growth in a legal career still relies on strong foundational skills. Creativity and curiosity remain essential. Legal knowledge sharpens judgment and improves the quality of questions you ask.
Mindset Shifts
- AI is a tool and a process. It can draft content, but decisions are still yours
- Keep experimenting. Expect rough starts. Keep refining
- Treat AI as a team member. Delegate routine tasks and focus on higher level thinking
Core Skills Still Matter
You can’t put up windows before you’ve built the walls
- Legal analysis
- Communication
- Ethics
- Judgment
Monthly Challenge
Try one new AI feature or workflow this month
LEADING WITH ETHICS | Law in the Age of AI
Voices: U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard, Heather Rosing
Ethics should be built into every AI enabled workflow. Core duties like competence, confidentiality, and communication must guide every use of AI in legal work.
Lasting Principles
- Never cite AI as a legal authority. Always verify with trusted sources
- Track what tools were used and why. Keep an audit trail
- Understand how your data moves. Was it confined to a secure system? Document the full path
- Stay alert to issues such as hallucinated outputs, misquotes, or prompt manipulation
- Build in red flag checks. Final outputs should always go through human review
Final Takeaways
- When legal insight and technical tools align, the impact is transformative. Tools open doors, but good habits create success
- Share effective practices. Confirm them. Teach them
- This is a unique moment of opportunity. Those who pair curiosity with strong fundamentals will lead the future of legal practice
A panelist joked “GenAI is the gateway drug.” Consider GenAI as the spark that will open the door to technology’s full potential.
Cat Casey reminds us that AI is not your enemy. Her mantra, “I learned to stop worrying and love legal AI,” is strong encouragement.
AI multiplies the value of sound judgment and reliable systems.
- Start small. Pick one workflow and run it once.
- Share what works. Teach one teammate today.
- Keep improving. Log one change you will test next time.
- Do it now. Take one idea from this post and try it before Friday.
Competence builds confidence. Confidence earns credibility. Use all three.
Image Provided by Women in eDiscovery SoCal Tech Conference
Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.