Honigman and Hotshot partnered to deliver a hands-on AI training program that gives in-house counsel practical skills they can use immediately, turning learning into action.

Esther Bowers kept hearing the same thing.

As Honigman's Chief Practice Innovation Officer, she'd meet with clients—general counsel at mid-sized companies, legal ops leads at enterprises—and they'd inevitably steer the conversation toward AI. Not in a theoretical way. They wanted to know: How do we actually use this?

"Clients don't always have the time and resources to invest in extensive training or get hands-on experience," Bowers explains. "When we meet with them, they’re looking for a deep dive into the tools we leverage, and they want to see these tools in action."

Rita Feikema, a real estate partner at the firm, was fielding similar calls. "I do short phone calls all the time with various clients who say, 'How's Honigman using AI? What are other firms doing with it? How should my legal partners be approaching this?'”

The firm saw an opportunity to strengthen their position as trusted advisors on legal technology while helping clients build essential skills. But there was a problem: these requests were coming in one-by-one, and creating custom training for each client wasn't scalable.

When Honigman began planning their third annual Innovation Symposium in Chicago, they decided to try something different.

Building Something Clients Could Actually Use

Rather than adding another panel discussion to the symposium, Honigman partnered with Hotshot, the learning platform for lawyers, to create a morning experiential workshop where clients could get their hands on AI tools—not just watch someone else use them. The collaboration was a natural fit: Honigman was already working with Hotshot on AI training for their own attorneys, so extending the partnership to client education made perfect sense. The firm also worked with Baretz & Brunelle (which now includes Lex Fusion) to organize the full Innovation Symposium.

"We were thrilled when Honigman asked us to develop this workshop," says Ian Nelson, Co-Founder of Hotshot. "We offer similar experiential AI training programs for law firms, but this was a unique opportunity to adapt that model for in-house counsel. The goal was to take the heavy lifting off Honigman's plate while ensuring clients got practical, hands-on experience they could use immediately."

Here's how it worked:

Before the workshop: Participants got access to Hotshot's AI fundamentals videos—covering topic like prompting skills, how LLMs work, and ethical considerations. They could watch at their own pace and arrive with baseline knowledge.

During the workshop: Instead of lecturing, Honigman partners served as "guides on the side"—facilitators who helped clients and other Honigman lawyers work through real scenarios.

"The experiential learning was intended to create a safe space where people could roll up their sleeves, get their fingers on the keyboard, and walk away with something they could immediately put into practice," Bowers notes.

Getting Partners on Board (Without the Heavy Lift)

Here's the thing about law firm partners: they're busy. Really busy.

Getting them to develop training materials from scratch? Nearly impossible. But Hotshot had already developed everything—the complete curriculum with attendee guides, facilitator materials, scenarios, sample documents, sample prompts, and discussion questions.

Rita Feikema describes her time commitment: “It only took a few quick calls and a brief meeting to prepare. For us, the process was simple and efficient.”

The minimal prep time was crucial. Partners could focus on sharing expertise and building client relationships—not creating training content.

What Actually Happened in the Room

The workshop put participants in the role of in-house counsel for a fictional company facing two urgent situations:

• A phishing incident requiring immediate internal communications
• A new CCPA amendment needing translation and guidance for business stakeholders

Hotshot created realistic documents—board meeting notes, sample legislation, corporate communications—so participants could work with materials that felt like what they would come across in their actual jobs.

Then they worked through practical exercises:

• Summarizing complex legislation for non-legal audiences
• Drafting communications for different stakeholders
• Adjusting tone and style based on who you're writing for
• Creating executive summaries from technical documents

The rhythm was simple: Honigman partners introduced each exercise, gave people time to work using various AI tools, then facilitated group discussions. Participants shared outputs and learned from each other's approaches.

The most valuable moments emerged organically. "One of the best parts of the workshop was getting to talk to people as they worked through the examples, sharing my experiences and hearing about their experiences within their own organizations," Feikema recalls.

"Watching clients go from hesitant to confident was so rewarding," adds Claire Wasserman, who heads tech content at Hotshot. "You could feel the energy shift as people realized they could actually do this—the 'aha' moments were happening in real-time."

Results: Strong Demand and Immediate Impact

The numbers told a compelling story. Of 170 symposium RSVPs, 150 signed up for the optional morning workshop—a remarkable uptake rate that surprised everyone.

But the real success was in what happened afterward:

• Immediate Application: Participants left with skills they could use right away
• Safe Learning: Clients felt comfortable making mistakes and asking questions
• Peer Exchange: Participants and Honigman lawyers shared tips and use cases
• Internal Confidence: Associates gained confidence talking about AI with clients
• CLE Credits: The firm secured continuing education credits, adding extra value

"People responded really well to the step-by-step approach," Bowers reports. "They valued the interactive, hands-on guide."

"The energy in that workshop was awesome," notes Joe Borstein, Baretz & Brunelle Partner and LexFusion Co-Founder, who helped plan and run the symposium. "You could see the lightbulbs going off as people worked through real scenarios. That combination of learning and doing created immediate value for attendees."

Scaling Success

Within weeks, partners were asking to replicate it.

"During a meeting among some Chicago partners, someone said, ‘That was really impressive, could we tailor something similar for real estate scenarios?’ Feikema noted. “That sparked a broader discussion among partners about developing practice-specific sessions, rotating locations, and possibly making it an annual program.”

The firm had discovered something powerful: a scalable way to deliver the training clients kept requesting.

"We regularly receive client requests from one-on-one training, which can be resource-intensive,” Bowers explains. "This gives us a scalable way to meet that demand."

The key? Having Hotshot handle all the content creation while Honigman focused on their clients. "It was straightforward from our side" Bowers notes. "Hotshot led the content development and program design, and that clear division of labor made participation realistic for our team and partners."

What Made This Work

Three critical success factors emerged:

Start with actual client needs. The workshop addressed real pain points Honigman kept hearing about—not just showcasing technology. Client needs first, technology second.

Make it hands-on. "The real impact comes when I say ‘Now, you try it – click here, craft a prompt, and let’s work through it together," Feikema notes. Demonstrations alone don’t drive adoption; hands-on experience does.

Partner strategically. With Hotshot handling the workshop and Baretz & Brunelle and LexFusion planning programming and managing logistics, Honigman could focus on client relationships and expertise sharing.

Looking Forward

For Honigman, this workshop became more than successful training—it's now a template for innovation as client service and powerful business development.

"It's a unique opportunity to engage my network and share that we’re offering something truly valuable—programming that’s both practical and applicable," Feikema notes. Partners could offer genuine value—not just another networking event, but real skills development.

As law firms prepare teams and clients for an AI-driven future, this model offers a proven template. The key insight: effective AI adoption isn't about technology. It's about creating learning experiences that meet people where they are and give them confidence to take the next step.

By making that shift tangible through hands-on experience, Honigman and Hotshot have found a way to turn AI anxiety into AI capability—one workshop at a time.

Hotshot can work with your firm or company to implement experiential and on-demand AI training for your team or clients. Contact us at info@hotshotlegal.com or learn more at www.hotshotlegal.com.