Ashley L Hanke Of Malkin Law: How AI Is Disrupting Our Industry, and What We Can Do About It

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I have had a long-standing interest in the alcohol and cannabis industries from a legal perspective because they are two highly regulated industries and regulations vary state to state. My desire to pursue a legal career in the industry was solidified after working on a vineyard in Tuscany. During this experience, I was involved in the wine-making process from beginning to end and developed an understanding of the intricacies of the industry, starting from the acquisition of real estate to carrying out agricultural activities, as well as vinification, labeling, sales, and exportation.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Malkin Law is a boutique law firm that specializes in a niche area of the law — alcoholic beverages. Unlike many large law firms that may allocate 5–10% of their practice to the field of hospitality, my colleagues and I pride ourselves on being experienced when it comes to all matters related to the production, distribution, sales, and marketing of alcoholic beverages. Additionally, Malkin Law is known for its superior client services and unprecedented response times to client inquiries, whereas we hear from clients that other large law firms that they have worked with in the past do not have the same personalized approach.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Curiosity, Adaptability, and Proactivity: The law, by design, is not static. Advancements in technology and constant changes in the law are happening every day. Although the courses I took in law school provided me with a solid foundation to start my career as an attorney, learning and intellectual development is ongoing. Being adaptable and open to constant changes in my field is crucial because, oftentimes, federal and state regulators will issue guidance that supersedes or overturns previous guidance, and all of a sudden, how a certain trade practice activity was carried out for years may suddenly be deemed non-compliant, and I need to be able to adapt quickly to counsel my clients on how to proceed with the impacted practice or activity in a lawful manner. I think of myself as a motivated self-starter, so my curiosity to learn the ins and outs of alcohol beverage laws coupled with my proactive nature, has been extremely helpful in my career, in that my mastery of new topics provides me with a competitive edge in the legal field as one of the few attorneys with informed knowledge on a given issue.

For example, in 2017, the Craft Beverage Modernization Act was implemented, and provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code provided reduced rates or tax credits for beer, wine, and distilled spirits produced in or imported into the United States. Due to this significant change in the law, my importer clients were paying a reduced rate of $2.70 per proof gallon of spirits imported into the United States instead of the previous rate of $13.50 per proof gallon, which was a significant cost saving for my clients. However, when the Act was first implemented in 2017, to receive the reduced rates, certain substantiating documentation and spreadsheets had to be completed and submitted to Customs and Border Protection in order for my clients to receive the reduced tax rates. During this period, it felt like no other attorneys or customs brokers knew how to properly submit the substantiating documentation to receive the refunds, so I took it upon myself to learn the process and spent countless hours working with customs to educate myself so that I could better serve my clients and successfully obtain these sizeable refunds for them. I could not have achieved this without being curious, proactive, and adaptable.

Let’s now move to the main point of our discussion about AI. Can you explain how AI is disrupting your industry? Is this disruption hurting or helping your bottom line?

The majority of clients that my firm counsels are “upper-tier industry members,” meaning manufacturers, importers, brand owners, and wholesalers of alcoholic beverages. I have seen AI disrupt the alcohol beverage industry in a variety of ways, ranging from the use of AI tools by my clients to optimize marketing strategies via paid social media buying tools to refining their production processes with AI algorithms that analyze data related to quality control, product formulation, and ingredient sourcing. I would say that this disruption is a positive one.

Which specific AI technology has had the most significant impact on your industry?

Casetext (a legal research platform that uses AI to help lawyers find relevant case law, statutes, and regulations quickly and efficiently) impacted me as an attorney. For my clients, Overproof, an online platform that provides AI solutions for the beverage alcohol industry, allows them to link data, accounts, and depletions on a single platform to facilitate brand growth.

Can you share a pivotal moment when you recognized the profound impact AI would have on your sector?

One pivotal moment in the legal sector was the emergence of AI-powered tools for legal research. For example, platforms like LexisNexis Context have transformed how attorneys conduct legal research. These AI tools can sift through extensive databases, identify relevant case laws, statutes, and precedents, and provide insightful analysis, significantly reducing the time and effort traditionally required for legal research.

How are you preparing your workforce for the integration of AI, and what skills do you believe will be most valuable in an AI-enhanced future?

At Malkin Law, we have taught our staff that the information that is generated from AI tools and the usefulness of AI comes down to experience, familiarization with AI technologies, and training on both the technical aspects of AI and its applications in legal practice. We emphasize that AI tools are not error-free, and the generation of information using AI technologies must be independently verified. However, there are multiple AI tools that are very valuable thanks to how they facilitate our everyday work, such as note-taking during meetings, which “joins” virtual meetings and sends a transcript after the call.

What are the biggest challenges in upskilling your workforce for an AI-centric future?

Oftentimes, employees may depend too heavily on AI tools and rely on AI without understanding that skills and experience are required to get the most out of this technology and leverage them effectively and efficiently.

What ethical considerations does AI introduce into your industry, and how are you tackling these concerns?

As an attorney with in-depth experience drafting website Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policies, and Cookies Policies, the main ethical considerations that AI introduces to my industry are data privacy and confidentiality considerations. Attorneys have a duty to maintain client confidentiality and protect sensitive information. When using AI tools, it’s essential to ensure compliance with data privacy laws and regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and to implement robust data security measures and protect confidential and/or proprietary information.