THE NATIONAL LAW REVIEW INVITES ASSOCIATE DEAN DARYL LIM TO WEIGH IN ON THE FUTURE OF AI
December 2024 — The National Law Review invited Associate Dean Daryl Lim to share his views on the future of AI. Others interviewed included then-Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal, the federal judiciary, startup founders, CEOs, and leaders of AI practice groups at global law firms.
Associate Dean Lim noted, “Law firms will increasingly adopt sophisticated generative AI tools to streamline drafting, contract analysis, and predicting litigation outcomes, boosting both efficiency and access to legal services. Workflows will evolve to integrate AI into routine tasks like discovery and billing, allowing lawyers to concentrate on strategic and client-focused responsibilities. There will also be a growing emphasis on ethical AI certifications and compliance audits as firms and corporations prioritize responsible AI usage. Additionally, legal AI will revolutionize dispute resolution, with AI-powered platforms facilitating mediation, arbitration, and early case assessments online.”
When asked what the biggest surprise from 2025 could be, he responded, “A black swan event could involve a crisis where AI systems are weaponized to manipulate legal proceedings — fabricating evidence, falsifying contracts, or influencing arbitration decisions in high-stakes cases. This could force rapid, coordinated action among global legal and regulatory bodies, highlighting vulnerabilities in the reliance on AI and prompting a reevaluation of digital trust and cybersecurity standards in international legal practice.”
The article can be accessed online.
Daryl Lim is the H. Laddie Montague Jr. Chair in Law at Penn State Dickinson Law. He is also the Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Founding Director of the Intellectual Property (IP) Law and Innovation Initiative. At the university level, he is a co-hire at the Institute of Computational and Data Sciences and an affiliate at the Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence.
Professor Lim is an award-winning author, observer, and commentator on national and global trends in IP and competition policy and how they influence and are influenced by law, technology, economics, and politics. He helps policymakers, attorneys, corporate counsel, scholars, and the public understand the world around them. He is a founding member of the Global IP Alliance and its local chapters in Pennsylvania and Illinois. In addition, he serves as Co-Chair of the University Education Committee in the US IP Alliance. In December 2022, the American Law Institute elected Professor Lim to its membership based on demonstrated excellence and outstanding professional achievement. In 2023, the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission recognized him as “a leading expert in antitrust law and economics” and the IAM Strategy 300, a guide to the industry pioneers with “exceptional skill sets, as well as profound insights into the development, creation, and management of IP value,” named him to its World’s Leading IP Strategists 2023 list. In 2024, he was appointed to the consultative group advising the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence.