AI Law | Business Law | Emerging Technology | Startups | Outside General Counsel
New Jersey attorney advising businesses, entrepreneurs and investors on the legal issues that arise from developing, deploying or commercializing artificial intelligence.
Practical AI legal counsel for businesses and entrepreneurs
Artificial intelligence is changing how businesses develop products, negotiate contracts, protect intellectual property, manage employees and serve customers. It also creates new legal and business risks.
I provide practical legal advice to businesses, entrepreneurs and investors dealing with artificial intelligence and emerging technology. Based in Montclair, New Jersey, I advise clients on the contracts, policies, transactions and legal issues that arise from using, developing or commercializing AI.
AI issues rarely arrive one at a time.
A company evaluating a single AI system may simultaneously face questions of contract, intellectual property, privacy, employment, financing, securities and corporate governance. Treating those as separate matters, handled by separate people, is how the contradictions between them go unnoticed.
My practice is built around that reality. I have represented entrepreneurs, emerging companies and established businesses in transactions and business matters for decades, including work involving contracts, financing, securities, intellectual property, emerging technologies and mergers and acquisitions. That experience allows me to approach AI as a business and legal issue rather than only a technology issue.
Where the work usually starts
Governance and compliance
Written AI use policies, vendor and model contracting, training data and intellectual property diligence, accuracy of public and investor-facing AI claims, and compliance with emerging state AI regulation.
This is the core of the practice and it has its own page. See AI Governance and Compliance.
AI for startups and emerging companies
AI startups face the legal challenges common to all emerging companies, plus questions specific to artificial intelligence. I advise on entity structure, financing, contracts, intellectual property, licensing and commercialization as an AI business develops. See Startups and Emerging Companies.
AI in transactions
Investors, acquirers and enterprise customers evaluating an AI company need to understand what they are acquiring. I handle diligence on intellectual property chain of title, data rights, technology dependencies, licenses, customer commitments and regulatory exposure, and I negotiate the representations that follow. See Corporate, Securities and M&A.
AI and privacy
AI systems can involve substantial amounts of personal, confidential or proprietary information. I advise on the contractual, privacy and confidentiality issues that arise when information is collected, shared or processed through AI tools. See Technology Transactions and Intellectual Property.
AI law and New Jersey
New Jersey lawyers and businesses are increasingly confronting the legal implications of artificial intelligence. The New Jersey Supreme Court has issued guidance on the responsible use of AI by lawyers, emphasizing that lawyers remain responsible for their professional obligations when using AI. The Legislature has several AI bills pending, and neighboring states have already enacted requirements that reach New Jersey companies doing business across state lines.
I serve on the New Jersey State Bar Association Artificial Intelligence Committee, follow these developments as they move and translate them into practical advice for businesses and professionals.
Writing and commentary
I write regularly about artificial intelligence, technology and the law, with particular attention to issues affecting businesses and lawyers. Recent topics include AI-washing and criminal enforcement, shadow AI in the workplace, early-stage governance, professional responsibility, AI-assisted contract analysis in M&A and the legal risks of AI-generated material.
Serving New Jersey businesses
Based in Montclair, New Jersey, I serve businesses and entrepreneurs throughout New Jersey, including clients in Essex County and the surrounding New York metropolitan area.
If your business is developing AI, purchasing AI technology, incorporating AI into its operations or trying to understand its legal risks, I can help you identify the issues that matter and develop a practical approach to addressing them.
alan@waltercounsel.com • 973-937-8636 • Send a message