
E40 - Lawyer Value in an AI World: Litigator, Coder & AI Evangelist Damien Riehl
From Zach Abramowitz is Legally Disrupted by Zach Abramowitz
February 25, 2026 · 41 min · Episode 44
About this episode
Zach Abramowitz discusses the evolving role of lawyers in the age of AI with guest Damien Riehl.
What does it mean to be a valuable lawyer in the age of AI? In this episode, Zach sits down with litigator, technologist, and AI evangelist Damien Riehl to explore how legal expertise evolves, not disappears, in a world of generative models and automation. From his unique path as both a practicing attorney and self-taught coder to his widely discussed “All the Music” project, Damien argues that the future belongs to lawyers who understand systems, leverage technology, and rethink what clients actually pay for. This is a conversation about professional reinvention, leverage, and why AI may amplify - rather than replace - the best lawyers. In this episode: Why AI changes how lawyers deliver value, but not why they matter The advantage of lawyers who can code (or at least think like engineers) Damien’s “All the Music” project and what it reveals about IP systems The difference between automation and augmentation in legal work How litigators should think about AI tools today Why understanding technology is becoming table stakes for legal credibility What the next generation of high-value lawyers will look like Learn More: Damien - https://www.ted.com/speakers/damien_riehl Zach…
People in this episode
Host: Zach Abramowitz
Guest: Damien Riehl
Topics covered
- AI in law
- legal technology
- lawyer value
- professional reinvention
- automation vs augmentation
- coding for lawyers
Keywords
- AI
- lawyers
- technology
- litigation
- automation
- coding
- value delivery
- intellectual property
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: All the Music, TED, LinkedIn
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