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U.S. Senate/Handout via REUTERS
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As courts nationwide grapple with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, a federal appeals court judge expressed skepticism about the need for courts to adopt rules that ban the use of generative AI by lawyers appearing before them, citing opportunities the technology offers to improve the legal practice.
6th Circuit Judge John Nalbandian in a speech delivered at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas argued that bans on lawyers using AI programs like ChatGPT to conduct research were “misplaced” efforts that would also bar potentially beneficial uses of the technology by litigants with limited means, our colleague Nate Raymond reports.
Several federal appeals courts are exploring regulating AI use by lawyers, following publicized incidents of AI “hallucination” in which attorneys using such programs submitted briefs with citations to non-existent cases. Some district courts and judges have adopted disclosure rules or, in rarer cases, outright bans on AI use. But Nalbandian said he did not believe such rules added much to already-existing prohibitions against lawyers making up facts and citations in their court submissions.
“Although I can’t say that I welcome our robot overlords either — I’ve seen “The Terminator,” “War Games,” “I, Robot,” and many other movies that predict our eventual demise at the hands of machines that we design,” he said. “And I can’t rule that out.” But for now, he said, AI like any other technological tool “poses challenges and gives us opportunities.”
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- A Texas federal judge wrongly transferred to another court in D.C. an industry-backed lawsuit challenging an agency rule on credit card late fees, a 5th Circuit panel said in a ruling that addressed the debate over “judge shopping” in the U.S. The appeals court in a 2-1 vote said an industry challenge to the CFPB’s rule on credit card late fees should remain in Texas.
- Retired liberal U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer plans to get back to hearing cases by sitting as a visiting judge on the federal appeals court in Boston. Breyer, who served on the 1st Circuit for 14 years before joining the U.S. Supreme Court in 1994, revealed his plans during a podcast interview with Democratic strategist James Carville.
- U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman asked a D.C. federal court to reject a bid from her fellow judges on the Federal Circuit to end her lawsuit over their decision to suspend her from the bench. Newman, 96, said in a court filing that the law underlying her suspension was unconstitutional and that her colleagues were engaging in an ongoing “pattern of harassment” against her.
- The Wisconsin state bar modified the language of a diversity program for law students after a conservative legal advocacy group sued in December, claiming the program discriminates based on race. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and the bar reached a partial settlement in the case that allows the bar’s diversity clerkship program to continue with a new definition of diversity.
- A 9th Circuit panel wiped out a $2.6 million fee award that an Idaho judge issued to Cooley and others for their work advancing a novel transgender rights case. The appeals panel said the trial court should not have granted fees for litigating unsuccessful claims and against some defendants who had been dismissed earlier in the litigation.
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That’s how much New York City agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit by two Muslim-American women who said the police violated their rights after arresting them by forcing them to remove their hijabs before being photographed. The preliminary class action settlement, which requires approval by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan, covers men and women required to remove religious attire before being photographed. In response to the lawsuit, New York’s police department agreed in 2020 to let men and women wear head coverings during mugshots, so long as their faces could be seen. There are more than 3,600 members in the class.
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—D.C. Circuit Judge Justin Walker, writing in a dissent against his colleagues’ decision to allow the DOJ to reopen a probe of the National Association of Realtors. The trade group had argued government antitrust enforcers “closed” a prior probe and should be barred from reopening it. Circuit Judge Florence Pan in the majority said the government made no commitment “express or implied” not to open a new case or reopen the closed one. Walker said the majority ruling was warning to parties negotiating with the DOJ’s antitrust division. The realtors group has battled claims for years that its home-buying rules violate antitrust law.
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- Today, lawyers for Google, Apple and Meta will ask the 9th Circuit to overturn a California judge’s order allowing some consumer claims involving illegal online gambling to move ahead. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila of San Jose ruled that Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act does not bar claims against the tech companies for processing payments consumers make to buy virtual “chips” in so-called social casino apps. Amazon is fighting related allegations lodged against it in Seattle federal court.
- Also today, U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald in Los Angeles will take up a request from former U.S. Secret Service officers seeking dismissal of a lawsuit accusing them of taking bribes from reality TV star Erika Jayne Girardi and her estranged husband, indicted California attorney Tom Girardi. Erika Girardi and Tom Girardi lost their bid to dismiss the lawsuit.
- On Tuesday, the parents of a Michigan boy who fatally shot four classmates are set to be sentenced for manslaughter. Jennifer and James Crumbley face up to 15 years in prison in connection with the 2021 shooting their son, Ethan, carried out. The parents’ argued, among other points, that it was impossible for them to envision their son would carry out a mass shooting.
- On Wednesday, former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg is set to be sentenced after pleading guilty in March to misleading New York investigators about financial statements that overstated the size of Donald Trump’s penthouse. Judge Laurie Peterson at a previous hearing said she would sentence Weisselberg to five months in jail.
- On Thursday, a 9th Circuit panel will consider whether to allow California to enforce a law that bans the carrying of guns in most public places, after a lower-court judge declared it unconstitutional. The state’s attorney general in court papers had argued “tens of millions of Californians will face a heightened risk of gun violence” if the law is blocked.
- On Friday, Apple faces a deadline to respond to claims from “Fortnite” developer Epic Games accusing the iPhone maker of violating an injunction involving its App Store. Epic’s attorneys at Cravath and other firms want U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to hold Apple in contempt and end what they call “sham” compliance. The companies have been battling in court since 2020. Apple has denied violating the terms of the injunction.
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Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.
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- Singapore-based Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon were found liable on civil fraud charges in Manhattan federal court, where a jury agreed with the SEC that they misled investors before their stablecoin’s 2022 collapse shocked cryptocurrency markets. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff will consider penalties after hearing from the SEC and the defendants. Terraform in a statement said the “SEC does not have the legal authority to bring this case at all.”
- Coinbase must face a consumer lawsuit accusing the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange of illegally selling unregistered securities and failing to register as a broker-dealer. A 2nd Circuit ruling said a lower court judge should not have relied on a December 2021 user agreement to find that Coinbase did not hold title to, and was not the seller of, 79 tokens that the customers traded.
- Virgin Galactic hit back at Boeing in a multimillion-dollar contract dispute over a next-generation “mothership” that will be used to help transport tourists to space. Virgin Galactic accused the aerospace giant of “shoddy” and “incomplete” work in a countersuit, after Boeing sued Virgin Galactic for alleged trade-secret theft. Both sides have denied breaking the terms of their contract.
- The 5th Circuit blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a rule that would make it easier for people defrauded by their colleges or universities to have their student loans forgiven, saying key provisions were “almost certainly unlawful.” The court, at the request of a group representing for-profit colleges, overturned a judge’s decision and directed him to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the rule nationwide.
- Universal Music is facing a new lawsuit over an allegedly unauthorized sample in hip-hop soul singer Mary J. Blige’s 1992 hit song “Real Love.” New York-based Tuff City Records told the court that “Real Love” uses part of the Honey Drippers’ often-sampled 1972 funk song “Impeach the President” that it did not clear, requesting an unspecified amount of monetary damages from Universal Music’s publishing arm.
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- Spencer Fane brought on a seven-lawyer product liability team, including partners Carmen Bickerdt and David Koob in Minneapolis, Tori Levine in Plano, Texas, and Hannah Lee in Santa Monica, California. The group previously was at Bowman and Brooke. (Spencer Fane)
- Epstein Becker Green added six lawyers to its healthcare and life sciences practice, including partners Raja Sékaran, John Puente and Melissa Borrelli in San Francisco. The team arrives from Nossaman. (Epstein Becker Green)
- Dorsey & Whitney hired Phoenix-based real estate partner Brad Wright from Polsinelli. (Dorsey)
- McGlinchey Stafford brought on trademark and contracts partner Thomas Dunn in Boston. Dunn most recently was at Verrill Dana. (McGlinchey Stafford)
- Pierson Ferdinand, a firm recently launched by former FisherBroyles partners, hired employment litigation partner Benjamin Jacobs in Philadelphia. He joins from Morgan Lewis. (Pierson Ferdinand)
- Buchalter brought on litigation and white collar partner Brent Baker in Salt Lake City from Parsons Behle & Latimer. Also in Salt Lake City, the firm added corporate partner Antonio “Tony” Mejia from Kirton McConkie. (Buchalter)
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Senators Chris Coons and Thom Tillis introduced the latest PTAB reform legislation, the PREVAIL Act, in July 2023. Sponsors of the bill assert its PTAB reforms “promote fair treatment of inventors.” The USPTO has attempted to address some of the same issues the PREVAIL Act covers. Ted Cannon of Knobbe Martens discusses the bill’s proposed reforms, USPTO guidance and PTAB precedent.
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