How State Courts are Embracing AI: Insights from Zach Warren at Legalweek

As part of our Live from Legalweek webinar, we caught up with Zach Warren, Manager for Enterprise Technology and Innovation at the Thomson Reuters Institute, to talk about a pressing issue in the legal tech space – how to better equip state courts with the knowledge and tools to adopt new technologies, especially artificial intelligence. Read on to hear about how Thomson Reuters is helping drive education and adoption in the justice system, and why Legalweek 2025 signals a shift from AI theory to real-world practice.

AT A GLANCE

• Educating the Judiciary: Thomson Reuters teams up with NCSC to help state courts understand and implement AI.
• Access Meets Innovation: Chatbots like British Columbia’s Beagle Plus show how tech can simplify court navigation for the public.
• AI in Action: Legalweek 2025 marks a shift as legal professionals are finally moving from AI talk to AI tools.
• Doing More with Less: State courts may lack big budgets, but they’re eager to adopt practical, cost-effective solutions.

About the Speakers

Zach Warren

Zach Warren is the manager for enterprise content for technology and innovation with the Thomson Reuters Institute. At Thomson Reuters, Zach charts the future of professional services industries, including legal, tax, and risk & fraud, through writing, podcasts, and more. He has been writing and speaking on tech and innovation for a decade, and before coming to Thomson Reuters, Zach was the editor-in-chief of ALM's Legaltech News.

Brett Burney

Brett is Nextpoint Law Group's VP of eDiscovery Consulting and a widely recognized authority on the complex ediscovery issues litigators currently face. In addition to consulting with corporations and law firms on their data management and legal technology issues, Brett is a journalist, podcaster, speaker, and author. Before founding his ediscovery consulting practice, Brett supported lawyers at an AmLaw 200 firm, where he worked with litigation teams in building electronic document databases, counseling on ediscovery issues, and managing the technical responsibilities of presenting evidence at trial.

Brett:

Here now is Zach Warren from Thomson Reuters Institute. I’ve known Zach for a long time. Great panel yesterday about how to better educate state courts on the use of AI and frankly all technologies. But that’s really what it was coming down to. The Thomson Reuters Institute has been doing some work with the National Conference of State Courts, is that right?

Zach:

Close! The National Center for State Courts. You got the initials right. [laughter]

Brett:

I got the letters right. [laughter]

Zach:

Absolutely. It was a good panel yesterday. The Thomson Reuters Institute has a consortium with the National Center for State Courts where we’re trying to educate judges and other court personnel around AI because they might not have the budgets of federal courts or especially large law firms, but the interest is absolutely there. No matter where you sit, you could be in New York, you could be in Alaska, and courts are trying to do more with less. The panel that you referenced yesterday, we had a local judge from here in New York. We had Hank Greenberg of Greenberg-Trawring, and myself just talking about what courts need to do to be more tech-savvy, and there are a lot of different use cases and especially low-hanging fruit right now that we talked a little bit about, even chatbots for intake and getting people to understand the court system a little bit more.

We’re seeing that there’s a great initiative out of British Columbia called Beagle Plus that is exactly that. Well, just a chatbot, to try and understand courts a little bit more. There’s also a lot of things in the back end in terms of organizing their data, case management. It’s a really exciting time.

Brett:

That’s fantastic, Zach. I always love watching what you’ve been working on over all your career. It’s always great that I get to see you and so many friends. What’s one thing that’s standing out to you or you’ve been anticipating, other than just being able to connect with some folks and stuff like that?

Zach:

The main thing is connecting with folks. I’m out in Minnesota and being able to see people in New York is great. We’ve been talking about generative AI for two years now, but the fact that some people are starting to go from theory to practice is extremely interesting. I’ll be looking to hear more about how people are using this practically now compared to just talking about it.

Brett:

Fantastic. Thanks Zach. Always good talking with you. Appreciate it.

Zach:

Will do!

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Learn More from the Legal Tech Experts

Watch the full webinar, “Live from Legalweek,” to hear from more legal tech pros in addition to Zach and Brett. Plus, stay tuned for the rest of our Q&A series, featuring exclusive interviews from major players in the legal tech space.