Generative AI is reshaping legal practice as law firms invest in AI technology
\nand prepare for a future where AI agents operate alongside human lawyers.
\nWhile such a future raises numerous ethical concerns, it also opens new oppor
\ntunities for ethical practice. This article explores the potential for AI agents to
\nimprove ethical decision-making within legal practices. We start by defining
\nkey concepts such as AI agents and agentic workflows. We then provide a brief
\noverview of the role of ethics counsel in law firms and discuss critical behav
\nioral challenges in the human practice of law. Finally, we introduce a new
\nmodel of AI agents acting as dedicated ethics counsel. These agents should be
\nspecialized, accountable, and systematic to provide comprehensive ethical guid
\nance in a firm\u2019s legal workflows. These ethical agents have the potential to miti
\ngate the human biases in traditional legal practice and offer an efficient and
\nscalable approach to ensure ethical compliance in an increasingly AI-driven
\nlegal landscape. To demonstrate this model, we end with real-world examples
\nof what initial ethical agent contributions could look like in practice.<\/p>\n
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