IP Innovators: Writer’s Block Is Dead: Drew McElligott on AI in Legal Practice

In the latest episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann sits down with Drew McElligott, Counsel at Crowell & Moring, to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping legal workflows from the inside of a major law firm. While much of the conversation around AI focuses on disruption, McElligott offers a grounded, practitioner-driven perspective: one of the most immediate and impactful changes is how patent attorneys begin drafting. As AI tools become more integrated into legal practice, they are redefining the early stages of patent drafting and eliminating one of the most persistent challenges in writing: the blank page.

Starting With Structure Instead of a Blank Page

For patent attorneys, drafting has traditionally begun with the challenge of structuring complex technical and legal ideas from scratch. McElligott explains that AI is already changing that starting point by enabling attorneys to generate outlines and draft language at the outset of a project. Rather than “being trapped staring at a word doc with a blinking cursor wondering where to start,” lawyers can now prompt AI systems to create structured entry points into their work.

He describes how attorneys can ask AI tools to generate outlines or multiple versions of opening paragraphs. Even when those outputs are not final, they provide a foundation that allows the drafting process to begin more quickly. In his view, “writer’s block is pretty much dead with AI,” because attorneys can “jump into projects and get to first drafts much easier, much quicker than you ever were before.”

A Shift Toward Editing and Refinement

As AI becomes more integrated into drafting workflows, McElligott observes a shift in how attorneys engage with their work. Instead of serving solely as first drafters, lawyers are increasingly evaluating and refining AI-generated content.

In practice, this means reviewing multiple outputs, selecting the most useful version, and improving it through legal and technical judgment. This dynamic, he explains, leads lawyers to become “a little bit maybe more of an editor than the first drafter.”

Efficiency Gains—With Important Limitations

While McElligott emphasizes the time-saving potential of AI, he also highlights its limitations. One issue is variability: running the same task multiple times can produce different results, with some outputs identifying more issues than others. As he explains, asking AI to summarize a document twice may yield two different answers, and one may be more complete than the other.

For that reason, he stresses that attorneys must still validate the outputs. Even when AI accelerates the drafting process, lawyers need to review the material carefully to ensure that it is accurate and complete. In this sense, AI is, in his words, “a tremendous time saver,” but one that still requires active oversight.

Rapid Progress in AI Capabilities

McElligott also points to the speed at which AI tools are evolving within law firms. At Crowell & Moring, he describes how the firm evaluates AI systems in practical terms, comparing their capabilities to levels of attorney experience.

An earlier tool, he recalls, was described internally as “a really good summer associate [who hasn’t] really quite begun the practice of law just yet.” More recently, however, a newer system has been characterized as “a really good fourth year associate.” The time between those two tools, McElligott notes, was just two years, underscoring how quickly the technology is advancing.

Beyond Drafting: Managing Large Volumes of Information

Although drafting is a central focus, McElligott also highlights AI’s role in handling large datasets. In litigation contexts, where teams may face hundreds of thousands of documents, reviewing everything manually is often impractical. AI tools can assist by organizing and prioritizing information so that attorneys focus on the most relevant materials.

He describes this function as ensuring that teams are “getting eyes on what we call the hottest docs,” allowing lawyers to direct their attention more efficiently.

AI as a Tool Within Legal Practice

Throughout the discussion, McElligott consistently frames AI as a tool rather than a replacement for legal expertise. In his view, AI represents the latest development in a long line of technologies that have influenced how lawyers work.

As he explains, “AI is a tool, it’s a great tool…and just like any tool, it can be put to good uses and it can be put to bad uses.” The key question, therefore, is not whether AI will be used, but how it is implemented and integrated into legal workflows.

Implications for Patent Practice

Based on McElligott’s observations, several practical implications for patent practitioners are already emerging:

• AI is changing how patent drafting begins: Attorneys can generate outlines and early draft language, reducing the time spent overcoming the blank page.
• The role of the attorney is shifting: Lawyers are increasingly acting as editors, refining and validating AI-generated material rather than drafting entirely from scratch.
• Efficiency gains require oversight: While AI accelerates early drafting, attorneys must still review outputs carefully to ensure accuracy and completeness.
• AI capabilities are improving rapidly: The progression from “summer associate” to “fourth-year associate” level tools in just two years suggests continued acceleration.
• AI supports information management beyond drafting: Tools can help prioritize large document sets, enabling attorneys to focus on the most relevant materials.

Starting with Structure

McElligott does not suggest that AI will replace patent attorneys or eliminate the need for careful drafting. Instead, he points to a more immediate and observable shift: attorneys are no longer starting from a blank page. They are starting with structure—outlines, draft language, and initial ideas generated in seconds.

And in that change, one of the most persistent challenges in legal writing may already be disappearing.

IP Innovators is proudly sponsored by DeepIP—the patent intelligence platform for in-house teams and external counsel. Learn more at deepip.ai.