AI & Legal Ethics: Navigating the Model Rules (Presented by the Federal Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section)

TJ McGrath, Esq., CEO & Co-Founder | Ardaithe Consulting, LLC

TJ McGrath is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ardaithe Consulting, LLC, where she helps organizations strengthen leadership, communication, and workplace effectiveness through science-based human performance training. She also serves as General Counsel for two U.S. Senate Commissions, bringing her legal expertise directly to bear on some of the federal government’s most sensitive institutional work. TJ served nearly three decades as an Air Force Judge Advocate and brings more than fifteen years of combined experience in federal service across both the Executive and Legislative Branches. Her legal background informs her work in ethics, conflict resolution, and workplace dynamics, with a particular focus on preventing disputes through effective communication and sound decision-making. She excels at developing individualized solutions — whether that means training, mentoring, resource allocation, or exit strategies — for organizations navigating complex human performance challenges. She holds a B.A. in Communication from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and a J.D., cum laude, from The John Marshall Law School.

• Education & Credentials

TJ holds a Bachelor of Communication from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from The John Marshall Law School. Her nearly three decades of service as an Air Force Judge Advocate provided extensive legal and leadership training across operational, administrative, and legislative contexts. Her cum laude distinction at John Marshall reflects academic excellence in a rigorous legal curriculum, and her subsequent service as General Counsel to two U.S. Senate Commissions demonstrates the institutional trust her legal credentials and government experience have earned at the highest levels of the Legislative Branch.

• Recognition & Leadership

TJ’s recognition is grounded in the sustained trust placed in her across the military, executive, and legislative branches of the federal government. Her nearly 30-year Air Force JAG career — spanning operational legal support, ethics, conflict resolution, and command advisory roles — reflects a record of professional excellence and institutional reliability that is rare in any career field. Her dual appointment as General Counsel to two U.S. Senate Commissions represents a continuation of that trust at the legislative level, and her founding of Ardaithe Consulting reflects recognition by private and public-sector clients of the practical value her science-based human performance methodology delivers.

• Professional Involvement

TJ is actively engaged in the federal legal and national security professional communities through her Senate Commission work and her consulting practice. At Ardaithe Consulting, she designs and delivers training programs focused on leadership communication, workplace effectiveness, ethics, and conflict prevention for organizational clients across government and the private sector. Her Air Force JAG background gives her particular expertise in the intersection of legal ethics, command climate, and organizational performance — a combination she brings to bear on civilian workplace challenges with direct and practical effect.

• Experience

TJ McGrath’s career represents nearly three decades of distinguished legal and leadership service to the United States Air Force, followed by a seamless transition into federal civilian service and entrepreneurial consulting. As an Air Force Judge Advocate, she advised commanders on the full range of military law — operational law, administrative proceedings, ethics, labor relations, and conflict resolution — across a career that spanned multiple commands and duty stations. Her subsequent service in both the Executive and Legislative Branches, culminating in her current dual role as General Counsel to two U.S. Senate Commissions, reflects a practitioner of exceptional versatility and institutional credibility. At Ardaithe Consulting, she translates that experience into actionable, science-based human performance training that helps leaders and organizations prevent conflict, communicate more effectively, and make better decisions under pressure.

Thom Rogers, JD, MBA, Founder | Hrothgar Ltd.

Thom Rogers is the founder of Hrothgar Ltd., a consulting practice specializing in operational and human resource strategies that enhance team dynamics and workplace productivity. A Missouri-licensed attorney with more than 30 years of experience, Thom has advised organizations on leadership, ethics, and technology across a wide range of industries and institutional settings. His career includes service as a Senate staffer and on the National Security Council staff, providing substantive grounding in national security, criminal law, labor relations, and information technology — a combination that gives him a practical and sophisticated foundation for analyzing the intersection of artificial intelligence and professional responsibility. He is an Everything DiSC® associate and a former Air Force instructor. Thom holds a J.D. and M.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and a B.B.A. in Finance from Texas Christian University.

• Education & Credentials

Thom holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Texas Christian University, and both a Juris Doctor and a Master of Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis — a dual-degree combination that reflects the intersection of legal and business acumen that defines his consulting practice. He is licensed to practice law in Missouri. His Everything DiSC® associate certification reflects formal training in behavioral assessment and team dynamics methodology, and his prior Air Force instructor role demonstrates a sustained commitment to adult education and organizational learning.

• Recognition & Leadership

Thom’s professional recognition is grounded in his sustained advisory record across government and the private sector over more than three decades. His service on the National Security Council staff and as a Senate staffer reflects institutional selection for roles requiring sophisticated judgment at the highest levels of the federal government. His dual J.D./M.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and his Everything DiSC® certification distinguish him as a practitioner who combines legal rigor, business strategy, and behavioral science in his advisory and consulting work — a combination that is particularly well-suited to emerging issues at the intersection of AI, professional responsibility, and workplace dynamics.

• Professional Involvement

Thom is actively engaged in professional responsibility, technology, and leadership development discussions across legal, government, and business communities. As an Everything DiSC® associate, he incorporates validated behavioral assessment tools into his consulting engagements to improve team effectiveness and organizational communication. His background in national security, criminal law, labor relations, and IT positions him as a particularly informed voice on the legal and ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence in professional settings — an area of growing focus across the legal profession and the broader workforce.

• Experience

Thom Rogers has built a 30-plus-year career at the intersection of law, government service, business strategy, and human performance consulting. His legal education at Washington University in St. Louis — paired with an M.B.A. from the same institution — gave him an integrated foundation in legal analysis and business management that has informed every phase of his career, from Air Force instruction through National Security Council service and Senate staff work to the founding of Hrothgar Ltd. His consulting practice draws on this full range of experience to help organizations navigate leadership challenges, human resource strategy, and the evolving ethical and operational implications of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. His depth across national security, criminal law, labor relations, and IT makes him a uniquely cross-disciplinary voice in the contemporary discussion of AI and professional responsibility.

SESSION 1 – Basic Introduction to AI and Cautions and Best Practices for Using AI | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

Attendees will receive a foundational overview of how AI tools function in legal practice, paired with critical cautions and actionable best practices to ensure responsible, competent, and ethical adoption from the outset.

SESSION 2 – Discussion of Model Rules 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 3.3, 5.1, 5.3, 7.1, and 8.4, and How They are Implicated When Using AI Tools | 2:10pm – 2:40pm

Presenters conduct a rule-by-rule analysis of how core ABA Model Rules apply when attorneys use AI, covering competence, diligence, communication, fees, confidentiality, candor, supervision, and professional misconduct in practical context.

SESSION 3 – Discussion of Hypotheticals and How Model Rules Would Apply | 2:40pm – 2:50pm

Attendees will work through real-world hypothetical scenarios designed to test and reinforce understanding of how the Model Rules apply to common — and high-risk — AI use situations attorneys face daily.

SESSION 4 – Resources and Q&A | 2:50pm – 3:00pm

Presenters share curated resources for staying current on AI ethics developments, followed by an open Q&A giving attendees the opportunity to raise practice-specific questions and leave with immediately applicable guidance.