It’s
been
almost
a
quarter
of
a
century
since
I
nursed
my
last
baby.
But
I
can
still
recall
that
specific
brand
of
frustration
that
only
parents
who
practice
understand.
You’re
awake.
You’re
alert.
Your
brain
is
firing
on
all
cylinders.
You
finally
have
a
stretch
of
downtime
but
you
can’t
use
your
hands!!!
Maybe
you’re
nursing
a
baby
mid-brief
but
your
one-finger
pecking
on
the
computer
keyboard
can’t
keep
up
with
your
thoughts.
Or
maybe
you’re
idling
in
a
school
pickup
line
for
40
minutes,
stuck
behind
a
minivan
with
nowhere
to
go.
Or
frantically
chopping
up
vegetables
and
sauteing
un-defrosted
meat
in
an
effort
to
get
dinner
on
the
table
in
30
minutes.
Used
to
be
your
options
were
to
scroll
social
media
and
maybe
like
a
couple
of
posts.
But
AI
opens
up
a
whole
new
world
of
productivity
for
parents.
Even
if
you
can’t
type,
you
can
still
think.
You
can
still
listen
and
absorb
information.
You
can
still
speak.
You
can
still
delegate.
And
if
you
can
do
those
things,
you
can
produce
meaningful
work
in
an
AI
age.
Put
Cases
on
Audio
Struggling
to
keep
up
to
date
on
your
cases
or
new
court
rulings?
Tools
like
Google
NotebookLM
let
you
upload
case
documents
—
from
complaints,
motions,
deposition
transcripts,
contracts,
or
case
law
and
generate
structured
summaries
that
can
be
delivered
as
audio.
Your
case
file
becomes
a
private
podcast.
For
the
busy
parent,
that
means
listening
through
earbuds
instead
of
squinting
at
your
phone
to
read
filings.
Suddenly,
a
45-minute
drive
to
school
and
wait
in
the
pickup
lane
morphs
into
substantive
case
review.
That’s
no
longer
idle
time.
It’s
strategic
preparation
—
and
it’s
billable
too!
Transform
Concepts
Into
Content
I’ve
written
before
about
the
value
of
voice
as
a
lawyers’
productivity
tool
in
an
AI
era.
But
for
working
parents,
voice
is
a
bona
fide
hands-free
superpower.
Just
switch
on
an
AI-powered
recording
device
like
Plaud.AI
or
an
app
like
Granola.AI
on
your
phone,
and
you
can
spew
out
anything
from
rough
drafts
of
LinkedIn
posts
to
stream-of-conscious
notes
for
structuring
a
reply
brief
or
a
custody
agreement.
Once
the
baby
is
down
or
the
kids
are
occupied,
just
plop
the
transcript
into
your
AI
platform
and
ask
it
to
convert
your
rough
concepts
into
polished
copy.
Role-play
Maybe
you
have
an
argument
coming
up
in
court
or
an
awkward
negotiation
about
a
salary
increase.
If
you’ve
got
an
AI
app
on
your
phone,
you
can
give
it
some
background,
then
ask
it
to
role-play
the
judge
or
your
boss
and
start
the
argument
or
conversation.
You
can
even
ask
AI
to
rank
your
performance
and
give
you
feedback.
Let
the
Agent
Handle
the
Desk
Work
If
you
prefer
to
give
your
kids
full
focus,
consider
AI
agents.
AI
agents
can
do
the
desk
work
while
you’re
away
from
the
desk.
For
example,
Anthropic’s
Cowork,
built
into
the
Claude
desktop
app,
lets
you
point
Claude
at
a
folder
and
describe
what
you
need
—
organize
case
files
with
a
consistent
naming
convention,
compare
three
expert
reports
in
a
Word
document,
pull
data
from
a
spreadsheet
into
a
summary
memo
or
client
update
for
your
review.
It
breaks
the
task
into
steps,
executes
them,
and
delivers
finished
output.
Through
connectors,
it
can
even
reach
into
Google
Drive
and
Gmail
to
pull
context
on
its
own.
You
step
away,
handle
bedtime
or
the
drive
home
from
gymnastics,
and
come
back
to
tidied-up
files
or
a
first
draft.
It’s
the
kind
of
work
that
has
to
get
done
but
now,
you
don’t
have
to
be
the
one
executing
it.
This
Isn’t
About
Optimizing
Parenthood
Even
though
I
would
have
enthusiastically
availed
myself
of
AI
tools
back
in
the
day,
I
don’t
mean
to
suggest
that
every
pickup
line
or
nursing
session
should
be
milked
for
content
(pun
intended!).
Some
moments
are
simply
for
chilling
or
being
present
for
the
lullaby,
the
backseat
conversation
about
your
child’s
day,
or
the
sound
of
silence.
My
point
isn’t
to
encourage
use
of
AI
to
turn
parenthood
into
a
productivity
hack.
Instead,
AI
is
a
way
to
reinforce
what
all
of
us
working
parents,
particularly
moms,
already
know:
that
meaningful
work
doesn’t
always
happen
at
a
desk.
For
too
long,
the
legal
profession
has
treated
physical
presence
as
a
proxy
for
seriousness.
But
thinking
is
work.
Strategy
is
work.
Prep
is
work.
And
now,
with
agents
that
can
execute
on
your
instructions
while
you’re
away,
even
the
administrative
grind
doesn’t
require
you
to
be
chained
to
a
screen.
With
AI,
while
life
happens,
serious
lawyering
can
happen
too.
Carolyn
Elefant
is
one
of
the
country’s
most
recognized
advocates
for
solo
and
small
firm
lawyers.
She
founded
MyShingle.com
in
2002,
the
longest-running
blog
for
solo
practitioners,
where
she
has
published
thousands
of
articles,
resources,
and
guides
on
starting,
running,
and
growing
independent
law
practices.
She
is
the
author
of
Solo
by
Choice,
widely
regarded
as
the
definitive
handbook
for
launching
and
sustaining
a
law
practice,
and
has
spoken
at
countless
bar
events
and
legal
conferences
on
technology,
innovation,
and
regulatory
reform
that
impacts
solos
and
smalls.
Elefant
also
develops
practical
tools
like
the AI
Teach-In to
help
small
firms
adopt
AI
and
she
consistently
champions
reforms
to
level
the
playing
field
for
independent
lawyers.
Alongside
this
work,
she
runs
the
Law
Offices
of
Carolyn
Elefant,
a
national
energy
and
regulatory
practice
that
handles
selective
complex,
high-stakes
matters.