Decision-support toolkit

Written for the skeptic, not the champion.

The purchase decision happens in a room we are not invited to. A partners meeting. A compensation committee. A hallway conversation with your ethics partner. These documents exist to make that meeting go well. Download what you need — no form.

Speak with the principal

For law firms

The managing partner, the ethics partner, and the equity partnership each need something specific.

Champion's Internal Presentation — Law Firms

A six-slide partner-meeting deck the managing partner or COO can present without rewriting a single slide.

Who this is for. The managing partner, COO, Executive Director, or practice group leader presenting to the equity partnership, a compensation committee, or a skeptical senior partner.

What it contains. Six slides. The problem — ethics exposure from unsanctioned AI use, realization pressure, the competitive gap. The regulatory framework — ABA Formal Opinion 512 and Model Rules 1.1, 1.6, 5.1, 5.3. The engagement scope. The risk posture. The decision.

When to use it. Before the partners meeting. Before the hallway conversation with equity partners that determines whether the idea survives. Before the ethics partner is asked for a reaction.

ABA Formal Opinion 512 Alignment Brief

A two-page document mapping Zusman Partners's engagement model to Opinion 512's operative requirements.

Who this is for. The ethics partner. The equity partner responsible for professional responsibility. Outside ethics counsel. The malpractice carrier's underwriter at renewal.

What it contains. Opinion 512's six operative requirements — competence (Rule 1.1), confidentiality (Rule 1.6(c)), communication (Rule 1.4), candor (Rule 3.3), supervision (Rules 5.1 and 5.3), and fees (Rule 1.5). Each section names the requirement, describes how the engagement satisfies it, and cites the specific Opinion 512 language.

When to use it. Before the ethics partner is asked to evaluate the engagement. The ethics partner is the veto-by-silence stakeholder at most law firms.

For any stakeholder

When a stakeholder hears the name second-hand and needs context.

"Why We Work This Way" Memo

A two-page overview the champion can forward to any stakeholder as a first introduction to the practice.

Who this is for. The ethics partner copied on an email thread. The senior partner who asked "what is this about." The outside general counsel reviewing the engagement. Anyone encountering Zusman Partners through a second-hand reference.

What it contains. What the practice is — an advisory practice that builds AI systems and teaches the tools, not an AI vendor. How engagements work — fixed scope, fixed duration, governance built in, the team owns the capability after. The regulatory posture — ABA Formal Opinion 512 and Model Rules 1.6 and 5.3. The teaching commitment.

When to use it. When the champion needs to introduce the practice to a stakeholder who was not part of the original conversation. Forward the memo by email with one sentence: "This is the practice I mentioned." The memo does the rest.

Finding what you need

The fastest path to the document you need.

You are an ethics partner or professional responsibility counsel

Start with the ABA Formal Opinion 512 Alignment Brief. It maps the engagement to Opinion 512's six operative requirements.

You are a managing partner, COO, or CFO

Start with the Champion's Internal Presentation — a six-slide partner-meeting deck.

You are seeing Zusman Partners for the first time

Start with the "Why We Work This Way" Memo. Two pages. Covers who we are, how we work, and the regulatory posture.

After you read

A 90-minute working session, when the toolkit has done its job.

Most stakeholders find what they need in the documents above. When the conversation moves from review to commitment, the working session is the next step. You describe the situation. We describe how we would approach it. The written assessment arrives within 24 hours.

Speak with the principal

Every document above is downloadable without a form.
Forward freely.