Right now, your summer placements are likely keeping you busy, so we know the concept of “free time” might feel fantastical. That said, if you find yourself with a slow afternoon, it’s worth pausing to think about where the legal profession is heading. Artificial intelligence (for better or worse) is reshaping how lawyers work, so it’s a good idea to get informed and prepared.
Practicing Law Institute (PLI) recently released two new books and launched a summer program series built that can help. Both books are included in the law library’s PLI PLUS subscription, so you can read them through the library at no cost. Here is a look at all three.
A New Kind of Book About the Future of Law
Unprecedented: Designing a Human-Centered Law Firm When Everything Is Changing is unlike most professional titles you will find on PLI PLUS. While not exactly fiction, it does read like a story. The book follows a fictional law firm through a week-long retreat as its lawyers confront the disruptive forces reshaping their world: generative AI, shifting client power, hybrid work, and economic models that no longer work.
What makes it stand out is the human angle. Instead of treating change as a tidy business problem, the book leans into the messiness of the whole ordeal. Along the way, it offers practical tools like discussion questions, agendas, frameworks, and exercises such as an empathy workshop and empathy interviews.
If you have ever wondered what kind of lawyer you want to become, and what kind of firm you would want to build or join, this is a thoughtful place to start.
A Practical Companion for Employment, Business, and Contracts Courses
Noncompete Agreements and Related Restrictive Covenants is a newly published, digital-only treatise that maps out the tangled legal landscape of restrictive covenants. It breaks the law down state by state, which makes it a genuinely useful companion if you are taking employment law, business law, or contracts.
Every chapter follows the same structure, so comparing how different jurisdictions handle the same issue is straightforward. You will find coverage of statutory authority, standards for enforcement, protectible business interests, drafting considerations, occupation-specific issues, and litigation strategies and remedies. That consistent format also makes it a excellent resource if you are working on a comparative or multi-state research project this summer.
Free Live Sessions: Summer Fridays, AI and the Modern Associate
If you would rather learn by watching tools in action, PLI is running a new weekly Zoom series called Summer Fridays: AI and the Modern Associate. Each Friday session runs about an hour and focuses on the AI tools and techniques every modern lawyer should know.
The series is led by Sateesh Nori, Chief Legal Futurist at LawDroid and a senior research fellow at NYU, and each session includes demos, practical exercises, real-world hypotheticals, and an open Q&A. You can join any or all of the sessions. Law student registration is free with the code PVS6 DISC1 at checkout. Just head to the registration page to sign up.
PLI Access and Getting Started
The two books are available right now through our PLI PLUS subscription. If you have not used PLI PLUS before or need help logging in, stop by the reference desk or reach out and we will get you set up. Happy reading, and we hope you enjoy whatever pockets of summer downtime you can find.