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18 • Embody the learnings. Role- plays are a critical part of gaining fluency with gen AI concepts and the confidence to have conversations with clients about the secure use of these tools. • Buzz works. The internal buzz from Stradley's role-playing use case hackathon did more to drive adoption than any prior email or mandate. Stradley Labs participants were brought onto client matters to discuss gen AI that same week. Overcoming Objections Here are the most common pushbacks we heard and how we addressed them: GenAI lies to me. Response: Yes, GenAI can produce errors and reflect bias. This is true of humans as well. In either case, it is our ethical duty to account for that as a part of the process of producing our work product. Clients will not trust this. Response: Then why are they already using it internally? Why do so many RFPs ask about it? Why are partners using these tools for clients right at this moment? Training faculty will have examples of key clients who are already using GenAI or inquiring about it. I do not have time for this. Response: Time is precious for lawyers especially, so consider this time as an investment for the inevitable questions from clients about where, when, and how you are prepared to deploy GenAI to benefit those clients. The time conundrum is softened by providing CLE credit, necessary for all lawyers, and ensuring the training enables you to uphold your ethical obligation of technical competence. CONCLUSION GenAI training initiatives gain traction with legal professionals when they align with how they learn and fit within their competing priorities. Successful programs require focused content, delivered in manageable pieces, reinforced through repetition, and applied directly to client work. This approach respects lawyer skepticism and turns it into engagement by demonstrating practical value. When training earns their trust in this way, skepticism shifts into confidence, curiosity, and measurable client impact — and that is what sustains adoption. SARAH HIREBET leads knowledge, innovation, and GenAI transformation efforts at Stradley Ronon. Her goal is to empower practice innovation by amplifying what people know through well-designed processes and technology in a manner that leads to a joyful, human-centered approach to providing legal counsel. ANUSIA GILLESPIE currently serves in Enterprise Operations at vLex, helping design and scale solutions that enable lawyers to work more effectively. Her career includes roles as Co-Head of Innovation at Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP, program director at Harvard Law School Executive Education, Chief Strategy Officer at SkillBurst Interactive, and leadership positions at UnitedLex. Widely published in outlets including Law360, Above the Law, and Law.com, she holds a B.S. from Tulane and a JD/MBA from Boston College.

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