F L A U N T
Artificial intelligence (AI) has found a home in numerous industries, from healthcare to finance; the same may be said for law offices. According to criminal defense attorney Brett M. Rosen, AI is beginning to influence how cases are prepared and argued, offering potential efficiencies while also introducing risks that legal professionals need to manage carefully. As even established practitioners work to keep pace, Rosen suggests that those in the legal field should understand both the strengths and limitations of these tools.
In a felony burglary and trespassing trial, criminal defense attorney Brett M. Rosen represented a client with a prior federal conviction. Struggling in certain areas of the case, he reports that he used an AI tool to analyze the information he had; it flagged inconsistencies in text messages, a possibility he had initially overlooked. According to Rosen, these discrepancies contributed to a directed verdict of acquittal.
Rosen presents this example as an illustration of what he considers responsible AI use in the courtroom. Rather than making a case for the lawyer, he notes that these tools’ data analysis capabilities may help surface overlooked connections. From this point, a legal professional can choose how to act on that information, while he cautions that misuse of AI could create risks for legal outcomes and professional accountability.
“I wrote in the New Jersey Law Journal about why AI cannot replace lawyers,” Rosen stated. “It fabricates case law. It misrepresents facts. Attorneys who don’t verify every output are gambling with their clients’ lives. I want to be on the record as someone who uses AI and also warns against blind reliance on it.”
Rosen describes AI models as useful but imperfect tools. Since the introduction of this technology, he points to reported instances of legal professionals citing case law that either does not exist or does not apply. While there is nothing inherently wrong with using AI to prepare legal documents, he explains that models are designed to generate responses, which may at times result in inaccurate or misleading information if not carefully reviewed.
Today, Rosen is a New Jersey Supreme Court-certified trial attorney with ten years of courtroom experience. He has completed numerous jury trials. Now, he dedicates his career to working with those accused of crimes.
For those clients, he says, AI isn’t a shortcut. It’s a second set of eyes on material a tired human brain might skip past. He’s under no illusions about what the technology can and can’t do. But in the right hands, applied to the right problem, he believes it can highlight details that might otherwise be missed.
From Rosen’s perspective, today’s legal professionals face the challenge of adopting the useful elements of AI technology while avoiding its shortcomings. He suggests that these tools should be approached with the same caution as any other piece of evidence, with an awareness of their limitations. In his view, distinguishing between responsible and irresponsible use is becoming an emerging issue within the legal field.
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