Bite-Sized Business Law
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Get a breakdown of the top stories in business law from industry leaders on the front lines with Bite-Sized Business Law. Host Amy Martella takes a closer look at the latest corporate happenings through interviews with the attorneys, legal experts, public figures, and scholars behind the news to distill business law’s biggest stories into bite-sized portions.
This is your chance to go further into the world of business law and stay up to date with legal cases and industry trends.
Corporations impact us all, leading changes that extend far beyond business to shape the economy, public policy, technology, and beyond. Looking at the big picture, Amy discusses not only the underlying issues in business ethics and legal cases leading the biggest stories but also sparks thought-provoking discussions on where the law should be headed.
Amy is the Executive Director of the Corporate Law Center at Fordham University School of Law. Her background ranges from big law to government to tech startups, allowing her to offer an insider’s perspective of the issues that shape corporate actions, large and small. Covering crypto regulation to securities fraud, AI’s impact to Elon Musk’s pay package, Bite-Sized Business Law covers it all with guests of varying viewpoints to provide the nuanced analysis needed to tackle complex problems.
Whether you're looking for the latest in legal insight on intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, business ethics or legal cases in the business law world, you’ll find it here. Enjoying a thoughtful perspective on the news stories of the moment, Bite-Sized Business Law examines big issues and delivers them in small doses.
Bite-Sized Business Law is a project by the Corporate Law Center at Fordham Law. The Center serves as a hub for scholars, professionals, policymakers, and students to engage in the study, discussion, and debate of current issues in corporate law. The Center focuses on aspects of corporate law, corporate compliance, antitrust law, and securities regulation. Through initiatives like the Mergers and Acquisitions seminar and the Securities Litigation and Arbitration Clinic, students actively engage in real-world research and cases, bridging the gap between classroom learning and practical application in the legal field.
Bite-Sized Business Law
The Efficiency Trap: How AI Is Remodeling the Deal Room
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AI is already reshaping legal work, but not in the way most people expect. In this episode of Bite-Sized Business Law, we speak with Francisco Morales Barrón, an M&A partner at Vinson & Elkins and member of the firm’s AI Task Force, about how he is actively using AI in high-stakes dealmaking rather than simply theorizing about its future. The conversation begins with how Francisco responded to early caution within his firm by taking the lead on exploring AI while also teaching a law school course on generative AI in corporate law. He highlights how these tools allow lawyers to go deeper into their work, not just get things done faster, while reinforcing the need for careful human review. As the discussion unfolds, Francisco explores the broader implications for the legal profession. He shares his perspective on potential displacement of lawyers, as well as the surprising opportunities created by AI, before breaking down the pressure AI puts on traditional law firm economics and how firm structures may evolve. The episode also covers ethical duties, client expectations, and how to rethink training for young lawyers in the age of AI. Tune in for Francisco’s firsthand insights on how AI is changing M&A from the inside out!
Key Points From This Episode:
- An introduction to Francisco Morales Barrón and his work in AI and M&A.
- How Francisco joined his company’s AI task force and what his work entails.
- Their pilot program for different AI tools, and how they chose to fully deploy Harvey.
- Details on how Francisco is using AI tools for specific aspects of his work in M&A.
- The importance of human review despite improving AI capabilities.
- How AI enables deeper analysis across contracts and deal materials.
- Unpacking how AI could displace lawyers while also creating new opportunities.
- Shifting attitudes among law students and younger lawyers.
- Ongoing experimentation with AI tools and why firms remain in pilot mode.
- Ethical duties and client expectations when using AI in legal work.
- How AI challenges traditional billing models and law firm economics.
- Concerns about training junior lawyers in an AI-driven environment.
- Rethinking training: moving toward an apprenticeship model with more direct mentorship.
- Tasks likely to be automated versus skills that remain human-driven.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Francisco Morales Barrón on LinkedIn
Harvey
Opinion 512 | American Bar Association (ABA)
Unreasonable Hospitality
Fordham University School of Law Corporate Law Center