Artificial intelligence is no longer just a futuristic idea. It has become a practical tool that is changing the way lawyers research, communicate, write, and manage their practices. For those of us representing injured workers, the question is no longer whether AI will impact our profession. The question is how we will use it responsibly.
As a workers’ compensation attorney, I see tremendous opportunity.
Small law firms have always faced the challenge of doing more with fewer resources. AI can organize information, summarize medical records, identify legal issues, draft correspondence, and streamline administrative tasks that once consumed hours. Used thoughtfully, it allows attorneys and staff to spend less time on repetitive work and more time serving clients.
That is where the real value lies.
Workers’ compensation cases are built on relationships. Clients are often navigating one of the most difficult periods of their lives. They need someone who will listen, explain the process, answer questions, and advocate with compassion, credibility, and experience. No technology can replace trust.
The same is true in mediation, settlement negotiations, and the courtroom.
Artificial intelligence cannot evaluate the sincerity of a witness. It cannot sense when an adjuster is ready to settle. It cannot appreciate the subtle facts that often determine the outcome of a disputed claim. Those skills are developed through years of experience, careful preparation, and sound judgment.
The legal profession is beginning to recognize both the promise and the risks of AI. The Alabama State Bar Office of General Counsel recently issued Formal Opinion 2026-01, reminding attorneys that existing Rules of Professional Conduct fully apply when using artificial intelligence. The opinion emphasizes that lawyers—not software—remain responsible for competence, confidentiality, supervision, communication with clients, candor to the tribunal, verification of legal authorities, and reasonable fees. Importantly, it makes clear that AI may increase efficiency, but lawyers cannot bill clients for time that technology eliminates. We are paid for our professional judgment, not for pretending efficiency never occurred. (Reuters)
That guidance closely mirrors the American Bar Association’s Formal Opinion 512, which concludes that there is no “AI exception” to professional responsibility. Lawyers must understand the capabilities and limitations of the technology they use, independently verify AI-generated work, safeguard confidential client information, and exercise professional judgment before relying on any output. (American Bar Association)
Those opinions reinforce something many experienced lawyers have always understood: technology can assist judgment, but it cannot replace it.
Recent court decisions across the country have demonstrated the consequences of treating AI as a substitute for legal analysis. Attorneys have faced sanctions, embarrassment, and damaged credibility after filing briefs containing fictitious cases or inaccurate legal analysis generated by AI. Those incidents were not failures of technology—they were failures of supervision. The lesson is simple: every citation, every quotation, and every legal conclusion must be verified before it reaches a client, opposing counsel, or a judge. (Reuters)
For plaintiff lawyers, however, I believe AI presents an extraordinary opportunity rather than a threat.
Small firms can now compete in ways that were once unimaginable. We can analyze large volumes of medical records more efficiently, improve client communication, prepare cases more thoroughly, and reduce administrative burdens without sacrificing personal service. Technology allows us to devote more time to strategy, advocacy, and client relationships—the very things that distinguish outstanding lawyers.
The firms that will thrive over the next decade will not be those with the most sophisticated software. They will be those that combine technology with empathy, integrity, credibility, and experience.
Artificial intelligence should make us more efficient.
It should never make us less human.
For those of us who represent injured workers, our mission has never been to produce documents faster. Our mission has always been to restore dignity to people whose lives have been disrupted by workplace injuries.
Artificial intelligence can help us fulfill that mission more effectively.
It cannot fulfill that mission for us.
The future of plaintiff practice will belong to lawyers who embrace innovation without compromising ethics, who leverage technology without surrendering independent judgment, and who remember that clients hire lawyers not merely for information, but for wisdom, trust, and advocacy.
Bernard Nomberg is an Alabama workers’ compensation attorney who is actively building a reputation in the practical application of artificial intelligence to law practice. Bernard is a partner with the Nomberg Law Firm in Birmingham, Alabama.