Why Is Legal Still Riding Horses in the Age of GenAI? ft. Umair Muhajir

June 18, 2026 Joe Stephens

In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome Umair Muhajir, Vice President and Global Head of Managed Review at DISCO, for a sharp, honest conversation about what GenAI is really doing to litigation workflows.

His view is clear: GenAI is not simply making old workflows faster. At its best, it is forcing the industry to ask whether those workflows still make any sense.

What You’ll Learn:

Why GenAI replaces first-level document review work, not lawyers themselves
How AI-powered review can deliver high precision and recall while creating stronger audit trails
How legal teams can separate case learning from document review using AI-powered Q&A tools
Why law firms struggle to adopt AI when their billing systems are still built for hourly work
Why many “AI ethics” horror stories are actually old-fashioned lawyering failures in a shinier outfit
Why legal education may need more statistics, validation and practical technology literacy

Tune in to hear why the future of legal work will only be won by lawyers who know how to use AI without lowering their standards.

Want to watch this episode of Between the Briefs instead? Get the full video on YouTube.

Contributors

Joe Stephens

Adrian Cea

About the Contributors

Joe Stephens

Joe Stephens, J.D., is Steno's Director of Legal Solutions as well as a Clinical Lecturer at Texas Tech University School of Law. With over 15 years of experience in criminal defense and public service, he founded and led Texas' largest rural public defender office, which serves a 12-county area. A graduate of The University of Texas School of Law (cum laude) and Vanderbilt University (B.A.), Stephens currently serves as a Board Member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association (TCDLA) and sits on multiple State Bar of Texas committees. His expertise spans the intersection of legal practice and technological innovation in the justice system.

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Adrian Cea

Adrian Cea is Steno's Social Media Manager, leading content strategy, audience engagement, and digital brand-building across platforms. He also produces and co-hosts Between the Briefs, Steno's podcast covering the intersection of legal technology, court reporting, and the future of litigation. With a background spanning content creation, field marketing, and sales at companies like Sell Better and Chili Piper, Adrian brings a multi-disciplined lens to making complex legal tech topics accessible and engaging.

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