Nashville, Tenn., July 23, 2026 — Bass, Berry & Sims completed its inaugural Summer AI Lab program on July 21, culminating with teams of summer associates pitching AI prototypes aimed at resolving workflow frictions. Building on the firm’s existing artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, the program expanded its portfolio of documented, lawyer-validated AI models designed to address everyday legal and business challenges. The Summer AI Lab reflects the firm’s ongoing commitment to innovation, client service, professional development, and the responsible adoption of AI technologies.
The program consisted of 43 summer associates broken into nine different teams, each consisting of three to six participants grouped by practice area. Each team was also assigned a group of lawyers and professionals from the firm who served in mentor capacities.
The winning team focused on creating an AI agent to capture and standardize reusable prompts and precedents for recurring deal workflows. This newly created AI agent quickly searches pre-populated vaults to find reliable precedent documents efficiently and quickly in the course of a deal transaction. This agent memorialized and adapted an existing process in a more efficient way to limit the attorneys’ learning curve and adaption.
“We are proud that this first Summer AI Lab was a big success,” said Devin Lintzenich, the firm’s chief attorney talent officer. “It was gratifying to watch our attorneys fully embrace this initiative and provide useful insight to our summer associates. This program was able to demonstrate how junior associates can help lead and how the profession rethinks the delivery of legal services.”
Driving Innovation Through Collaboration
Created and led by Lintzenich in collaboration with Cat Moon, professor of the practice and founding co-director of Vanderbilt Law School’s AI in Law Lab, the program leveraged the practical knowledge of experienced attorneys to identify points of friction via interviews with summer associates. Lawyers and professionals across experience levels, practice groups and departments participated as AI Lab Leaders serving as consultants to each team.
After interviewing Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys, the summer associate teams were tasked with identifying problems where AI could improve the client experience and internal workflows and then develop prototypes to resolve the problem. The teams pitched their solutions during a firm-wide presentation in a Shark Tank-style format.
“It is really unique for a mid-market firm that to make this investment and to approach AI innovation and education in this connected manner,” said Rachel Shields Williams, director of AI & Knowledge Management at Bass, Berry & Sims. “Devin approached this program through the lens of education and professional development, and not the IT or HR training scope many firms take. The end result was several impressive AI solutions, buy-in from senior-level attorneys and the advancement of core competencies for these burgeoning attorneys. This structure, and the support of such a prestigious partner, Cat Moon of Vanderbilt Law School, will help us continue our goal of leading in AI rather than following.”
A Human-Centered Approach to AI Education
Bass, Berry & Sims’ Summer AI Lab was developed around human-centered design, which is premised on understanding a problem in human terms before developing a solution. Collaborating with Moon aimed to ensure the method was rigorous and the projects were workable. The firm expects the AI Innovation Lab to serve as a model for future summer programming and as a replicable framework for other business functions across the organization.
“Human-centered design is a powerful framework for legal education because it starts with people and their real problems to create better outcomes” said Moon of Vanderbilt Law School. “This partnership gives students and future lawyers a chance to explore how AI can support the practice of law while keeping the human needs of clients and lawyers at the center. We were really grateful to be part of it this summer and look forward to seeing how the firm continues to move the profession forward in this arena.”
Pitch Day Showcases Practical AI Solutions
The summer associates presented their final solutions on July 21 in Nashville during an in-person and virtual pitch day, featuring seven-minute team presentations. To choose a winner, the firm asked everyone at the firm to vote on the project that demonstrated meaningful potential to create value, drive impact, and inspire new possibilities.
Some themes that emerged through the process and were highlighted in the presentations included: the use of AI to create efficiencies and client value, standardization of documents and processes, and that AI should be used as a starting point to generate content.
Preparing the Next Generation of AI-Enabled Lawyers
“AI is changing how legal work gets done,” said Lintzenich. “We created this program to ensure our next generation of lawyers is learning how to think critically, exercise judgment, and serve clients well in an AI-integrated environment. More than that, we empowered our summer associates to develop AI expertise and become catalysts for firmwide adoption.”
The initiative comes at a time when Bass, Berry & Sims welcomed a record summer associate class of 43 first- and second-year law students representing 16 different law schools, underscoring the firm’s commitment to creating meaningful, differentiated training opportunities for a substantial incoming class.
Teams of summer associates represented a wide range of practice areas, including Litigation & Dispute Resolution; Corporate/M&A; Healthcare; Labor & Employment; IP, Media & Technology; and Real Estate.
About Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Bass, Berry & Sims is an independent, nationally recognized law firm dedicated to helping clients go confidently through complex legal challenges. We deliver high-caliber counsel and exceptional service to leading middle market companies across industry sectors, with particular focus in the healthcare and private equity industries. For over a century, our team has partnered with clients across the country on sophisticated transactions, significant litigation and investigations, and international regulatory matters. We collaborate seamlessly with deep experience across practice areas, industries, and geographies to provide innovative, business-focused solutions that create measurable value. For more information, visit www.bassberry.com.