CIARDI CIARDI & ASTIN Sponsors IT Conference in Dallas
In January, CCA presented at The20 MSP Tech Summit in Dallas, Texas, on the topic of AI and its effect on the legal industry, SMB business operations, and beyond.
March 2, 2026
CIARDI CIARDI & ASTIN Sponsors IT Conference in Dallas
By Daniel K. Astin, Counsel
Ciardi Ciardi & Astin
Wilmington, DE and Philadelphia, PA
Email: dastin@ciardilaw.com
In January, CCA presented at The20 MSP Tech Summit in Dallas, Texas, on the topic of AI and its effect on the legal industry, SMB business operations, and beyond. (www.the20.com)
“What we're seeing right now in legal practice is no less dramatic than what we saw in the early 2000s with the radical shift from traditional hourly billing to value-based models. Call it a sea change, a paradigm shift—call it whatever you want. But it's happening: law firms are actively and consciously reinventing themselves in order to best serve their clients.”
We see reinvention in the move from the traditional legal advisory model to an AI-integrated intelligence model, from managed legal services to managed legal intelligence. As Danny Astin noted, your SMB clients are hungry for AI - and yes, they're already using it. The question is: will you be the one they turn to for help in navigating the legal issues around AI? Danny opted for the following metaphor when discussing the choice law firms face in helping clients manage their AI risks and liabilities – and informed the audience at Summit, “you're either a trusted advisor or a potted plant.” The message couldn't be clearer. Insert yourself front and center or get boxed out with the rise of AI and its attendant risks and roadblocks. Law firms are perfectly poised to step into the coveted role of true strategic partner for the thousands of businesses in dire need of guidance, but becoming something new in the eyes of clients takes real work. “The law firms with imagination, grit, and the courage to reinvent themselves are the ones who will win.” Danny Astin, presenting at Summit in Dallas, Texas.*
(*Astin is Founder Emeritus of Ciardi Ciardi & Astin’s Delaware Business & Technology Practice and renowned for his vast experience as a former USDOJ “Watchdog” in some of the world’s largest business restructurings; he received the Navy Commendation Medal for his service as a Navy JAG on “America’s Flagship (CV64) and is a trusted advisor to significant market leaders, managed services providers and end users in the Technology space; Astin has litigated as Delaware counsel around the nation on many issues of first impression and cases of national interest including Feuer vs. Facebook, et al; and recently Hertz restructuring on CCA’s team as the lead CCA team attorney in Delaware representing the “falsely accused plaintiffs.” Astin has worked with many of the nation’s leading law firms and advised several prominent political leaders; as Delaware and Philadelphia counsel he has litigated many issues of first impression; a member of the Military Cyber Professional Association; Navy Academy Blue N Gold; Military Officers Association; Army Navy Cyber Intelligence Club; Astin enjoys time fly fishing with his two sons on the Yellowstone and walks with his canine friend “Dulce”. Astin is the sole member of the International Business Law Consortium (IBLC) a select group of prominent business and trade attorneys throughout the world headquartered in Austria - for the state of Delaware - and was most recently selected as the IBLC representative for Philadelphia).
