Appellate Judges Education Institute

Plenary 5: Life of an Appeal in the Age of AI: From Trial Court to Appellate Decision

Session Description:

Follow a dramatic spousal abandonment case through each stage of the appellate process as two AI specialists and a judge demonstrate how artificial intelligence is transforming appellate practice. Through live demonstrations and interactive discussions, participants will see firsthand how AI tools may be used for initial case assessment, legal research, brief writing and opinion drafting.

Learning Objectives:

After completing this session, participants will be able to:

1. Identify specific ways to use AI tools for brief writing, research, and analysis at each stage of an appeal.

2. Understand how judges and court staff employ AI tools to analyze briefs, research precedent, and draft opinions.

3. Implement best practices for integrating AI into appellate practice while maintaining appropriate ethical standards.

4. Recognize both the potential and the limitations of current AI legal tools through practical demonstrations using actual case materials.

Experience the future of appellate practice as three experts use cutting-edge AI to tackle a provocative case about marriage, death, and a $25,000 question: Can you abandon your spouse while living under the same roof?

Learn about the strengths and limitations of AI through practical, real-time demonstrations.

Dr. Ryan Walker, Vice President of CoCounsel Innovation, Thomson Reuters

Ryan Walker is the Vice President of CoCounsel Innovation at Thomson Reuters, where he leads the product’s innovation and forward deployment teams. Prior to Thomson Reuters acquisition of Casetext (the creators of CoCounsel) Ryan served as Chief Technology Officer, driving the development of the company’s groundbreaking AI legal assistant.

Originally trained as a mathematician, Ryan has spent more than a decade building advanced AI and technology systems. He’s especially passionate about legal tech, where the intersection of law, data, and AI presents a unique opportunity to solve some of society’s most complex and consequential challenges.

Damien Riehl, Lawyer & Technologist, vLex Group

Damien Riehl is a lawyer and technologist with experience in complex litigation, digital forensics, and software development. A lawyer since 2002 and coder since 1985, Damien clerked for the chief judges of state and federal courts, practiced in complex litigation for over a decade, has led teams of cybersecurity and world-spanning digital forensics investigations, and has built AI-backed legal software. Damien is Chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s AI Committee, which oversees an AI Sandbox to promote Access to Justice (A2J). At SALI, the legal data standard, Damien built and greatly expanded the taxonomy of over 18,000 legal tags that matter, helping the legal industry’s development of Generative AI, analytics, and interoperability. At vLex Group — which includes Fastcase, NextChapter, and Docket Alarm — Damien helps lead the design, development, and expansion of various products, integrating AI-backed technologies (e.g., GPT) into a billion-document dataset from 100+ countries, all to improve legal workflows.

Hon. Leanna Weissmann, Judge, Court of Appeals of Indiana

Hon. Leanna Weissmann serves as a Judge on the Court of Appeals of Indiana, having been appointed to the bench in 2020. Prior to her judicial appointment, she maintained a successful appellate practice, handling over 400 appeals before state and federal courts. Judge Weissmann’s legal career includes significant experience as a judicial law clerk for both the Court of Appeals of Indiana and the Indiana Supreme Court. Notably, Judge Weissmann was selected as one of Indiana’s four representatives in the National Center for State Courts Initiative (NCSCI) training program for judicial teams – one of only seven jurisdictions chosen to participate.

Hon. Robert J. Torres, Jr., Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Guam (moderator)

The Honorable Robert J. Torres, Jr., appointed to the Supreme Court in 2004 is serving his third term as Chief Justice. He is President of the Pacific Judicial Council, a past President of the American Judges Association (AJA), serves on AJA’s Executive Committee and Board of Governors, is Membership Secretary for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s (NAPABA) Judicial Council, a member of the Appellate Judges Conference, the Appellate Judges Education Institute (AJEI) Executive Committee, and is chairman of the 2025 AJEI Summit. Torres received a B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, JD from Harvard Law School, and a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), Honoris Causa, from the University of Cebu and from Centro Escolar University in the Philippines. Chief Justice Torres has educated judges and attorneys in over 22 countries on a variety of subjects.

Plenary 1: The Death of the Chevron Doctrine: The Future of Regulatory Power and Litigation

Plenary 3: R.E.S.P.E.C.T

LGBTQ Inclusion in the Courtroom and Workplace