ADA’s Use of Fabrications Leads Court to Vacate Denial of New Trial in High Profile Payne Case
On May 6th, I spoke with reporter Robert Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle about AI. One of the issues we discussed was how AI is impacting the perception of lawyers by the public. I explained to Bob that I felt that the numerous cases of lawyers using fabricated case law is not good for that perception. […]
Microsoft’s New Legal Agent for Word: What You Need to Know
On April 30, Microsoft announced its Legal Agent, a new AI tool built into Word that is aimed specifically at legal work. Unlike general-purpose Copilot, the Legal Agent was designed for contract review and redlining. It can analyze legal documents, draft tracked-change edits, work inside documents that already contain tracked changes from other authors, and […]
Answers to Questions from ABA: AI in Action Webinar
Jennifer Riley and I got more questions during the AI in Action webinar than we could answer live. Below are written answers to all of them, including the ones we touched on briefly. Please verify anything that will drive a real decision and understand that pricing and terms of service change frequently. If you would […]
“It Took 9 Seconds”: AI Agent Deletes Entire Company Database – Lessons for Law Firms
Today, a colleague sent me an article that made me say “oof” to myself. The headline was alarming: a Claude AI coding agent deleted an entire company’s production database in just nine seconds. The Facts Let’s start with the facts as reported. On Friday, April 24, a SaaS company called PocketOS lost its production database […]
Fortis v. Krafton: AI, Privilege & Clients Ignoring Legal Advice
The Delaware Court of Chancery issued an opinion on March 16 that deserves attention for reasons that have nothing to do with hallucinated citations. Fortis Advisors, LLC v. Krafton, Inc. is a contract case. AI has a substantial role in the case due to its use by the CEO of a company. It is the […]
Williams v. Honl: A Quiet Fix Is Its Own Candor Violation
The Oregon Court of Appeals published Williams v. Honl on April 22, 2026. Appellant’s attorneys have to pay $8,044.25 to cover the respondent’s fees after filing an opening brief full of AI-generated fabrications. Six of the nine cases cited were either quoted for words that do not exist or used for propositions of law the […]
Podcast: Using AI Safely in a Law Firm: Risk Management for Lawyers
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jason Marsh from AlphaLawyer. Jason and I spoke about AI and risk management. AlphaLawyer describes our conversation: “Are you using AI in your law firm but worried it might expose you to serious risk? In this episode of the Alpha Lawyer Podcast, Jason Marsh sits down with […]
AI Integration for Law Firms: Buying the Tool Is the Easy Part
Law firms are buying AI tools. That much is clear. What is less clear is whether anyone is actually using them. When I read about AI or discuss it with attorneys, as I frequently do, I see a pattern. A law firm explores AI use. Many of the attorneys and staff are excited about bringing […]