David Roth Quoted in Law.com on AI's Growing Risk-Management Burden for Law Firm General Counsel

Bradley partner David Roth was quoted in Law.com on how AI is increasing the risk-management burden on law firm general counsel.

Roth, who serves as Bradley’s general counsel, said, “I am not sure that I have lived through as seismic a change in the nature of the practice as I'm living through right now,” adding that he thinks the rise of AI in the practice of law is touching all kinds of different areas.

In contrast to earlier technology shifts, Roth recalled the days “when we first started to widely email documents, so we didn't have to drive to the airport to meet the 8:30 FedEx deadline.”

Roth said that AI usage is among several risk areas that have increased his workload since he took on the role of general counsel in 2022. His AI-related duties include educating attorneys on its ethical use, developing policies and procedures, ensuring with client expectations, and “making sure that our contractual relations with AI providers make sense.”

Roth noted that “as the cyber-attacks get better, you have to up your game.”

Roth explained that firms face a growing burden from AI-assisted pro se litigants, contrasting the current landscape with that of 20 years ago, when “that meant oftentimes a handwritten complaint that you would have to sort of sift through to figure out what's the basis of the claim.”

“There is a legion now of pro se litigants who are leveraging AI to more effectively litigate, and so that has created an additional burden on law firms,” Roth said. “Pro se litigants are very willing to file a barrage of motions generated by AI.”

Though more experienced attorneys may often need more guidance on AI than newer lawyers who were prepared in law school to use the technology, checking AI-generated content for accuracy before court filings is “everybody’s responsibility.”

"I can't read every pleading that this law firm files in all of its cases, and no one would expect me to,” Roth said. "The best I can do is work with really bright people in this firm to establish what our expectations are for our lawyers, and we do our best to communicate those expectations to our colleagues.”

Roth regularly discusses AI use with clients, noting a reversal in their attitudes. “We have seen an unprecedented evolution where maybe two years ago, or even a year and a half ago, you had clients talking to us about AI and saying we don't want you to use it,” Roth said.

“Now, we see clients asking us to find ways to leverage it to provide them better and more efficient legal services,” he said. “So, we are working to find ways to leverage it, not to replace what we do but to complement what we do.”

The full article, “AI Booms Compounds Law Firm GC’s Risk-Assessment Workloads,” was published by Law.com on October 20, 2026. (login required)