Generative AI changes how information is created, but it does not change the lawyer's duties of competence, confidentiality, communication, professional judgment, supervision, candor, or responsibility for the final product.
Al has not reduced the lawyer's responsibility. It has increased the amount of material the lawyer must evaluate before exercising professional judgment.
This trend raises fundamental ethical questions about competence, confidentiality, client communication, candor to the tribunal, and the lawyer's independent professional judgment.
This ethics hour addresses the professional risks that arise and the lawyers' non-delegable duties of competence, diligence, candor and supervision when clients attempt to control strategy or drafting.
CLE Ethics credit pending.
Our Presenters
Sandy Bowen, a founding partner at Bowen Ten Long & Bal, PC, has concentrated her practice on family law and representing families in separation and divorce since 1988. She brings her personal experience with divorce and her years of professional experience and an extensive network of resources to each client's case.
Sandy was a founding partner at Bowen, Champlin, Foreman & Rockecharlie in Chesterfield County, Virginia, and managed that firm from 1997 to 2006. From 2006 until February 2014, she was with Coates & Davenport, P.C. in Richmond. This experience supports her practice of representing all parties in divorce litigation involving complex financial issues.
Sandy is from Arlington County. She graduated from the University of Virginia and later earned her law degree from the TC Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Virginia State Bar, the Chesterfield County Bar Association, the Henrico County Bar Association, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, the Metro Richmond Family Law Bar Association, and the Metropolitan Richmond Women's Bar Association, where she has previously held the positions of Secretary and Treasurer. She is admitted to practice in all courts in the Commonwealth of Virginia and federal courts, including the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Sandy takes great pride in her family, which includes two grown children. She has been actively involved in various school and community organizations, often serving on their Board of Directors. Additionally, Sandy has volunteered for many years with the Virginia Bar Association, helping staff Central Virginia Legal Aid's Hot Line with volunteer attorneys. She continues to support the pro bono initiatives of the Virginia Bar Association, ensuring that legal services are accessible, and advises clients referred by the Legal Information Network for Cancer (LINC).
Erika MacCormac is a Partner with Winslow McCurry & MacCormac, PLLC, where she leads the firm’s family law team and practices solely in the area of family law, focusing on divorce, child custody and visitation, spousal support, child support, adoption, and prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. Erika understands the myriad emotional, financial, spiritual, and practical implications and challenges presented by divorce and custody matters. She is equally comfortable in the courtroom trying a case or at settlement table working on a collaborative resolution.
In addition, Erika routinely serves as a Guardian ad litem for minor children in the context of abuse and neglect proceedings, juvenile delinquency hearings, and contested custody and visitation litigation. She also presents for the National Business Institute on family law matters and serves as a guest lecturer at the University of Richmond Law School Family Law Clinic Seminar.
Erika attended Virginia Tech earning her degree in political science with a legal studies option, graduating magna cum laude, with memberships in Gamma Beta Phi, Pi Sigma Alpha, and the Golden Key Society. She was also a columnist with the Collegiate Times. Erika earned her J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law, where she graduated with a certification of concentration in family law. In addition, she worked and served as a Teaching Assistant for the Jeannette Lipman Family Law Clinic. She was also Executive Editor of the Richmond Journal of Law and Public Interest, served on the University of Richmond Client Counseling and Negotiation Board, and earned first prize in Richmond’s Client Counseling Competition.
A native of Chesterfield County, Erika is an active member of Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church in Midlothian, as well as being a member of Midlothian Ruritan Club and a current Board member of the Metropolitan Richmond Women’s Bar Association. She resides with her husband and children in Midlothian.
Our Schedule
- Registration/Networking 11:30 a.m.
- Lunch 12:00 p.m.
- Program 12:30 p.m.
- Adjourn 1:30 p.m.
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