Alan N. Walter 
Artificial intelligence is reshaping legal practice faster than most ethics rules were written to address. For New Jersey lawyers, that gap is not theoretical. In January 2024, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued Preliminary Guidelines on the Use of Artificial Intelligence by New Jersey Lawyers, making clear that the existing Rules of Professional Conduct apply fully … Read more
SUMMARY An evergreen clause automatically renews a contract at the end of its term unless a party takes affirmative steps to cancel within a specified window. Common in software subscriptions, commercial leases, service agreements and equipment leases, these provisions are enforceable and frequently overlooked. Understanding how they work, where they hide and how to negotiate them … Read more
Even without a personal guarantee, business owners are not automatically shielded from liability. Whether limited liability holds depends heavily on the structure of the business and just as importantly on the owner’s conduct. Courts routinely impose personal liability in several recurring situations, and the analysis tends to focus less on formal labels and more on … Read more
Matthew McConaughey has done something no major Hollywood actor had done before him: he trademarked himself. Not a logo. Not a company name. Himself, his face, his voice and his famous catchphrase. The move is novel, it is deliberate and it tells you a great deal about where the law stands on artificial intelligence, likeness … Read more
When prosecutorial authority is wielded as a political tool rather than an impartial mechanism of law enforcement, the foundations of democratic governance begin to crack. Politicized prosecution threatens impartial justice and erodes public trust in legal institutions. I draw on historical and contemporary examples, and show how selective or retaliatory prosecutions corrupt perceptions of fairness … Read more
SUMMARY Federal courts now treat AI prompts, outputs and decision logs as discoverable evidence, applying standard discovery rules to a category of information most businesses have never thought to govern. Two landmark 2026 decisions, including United States v. Heppner, where a criminal defendant lost privilege protection over 31 Claude-generated documents, signal that unsupervised AI use creates … Read more
A class-action lawsuit filed on April 1, 2026, by Hector Rodriguez, an attorney, former Franklin Township judge, and member of the Rutgers Class of 1975, alleges that the university has squandered public funds by running its athletic department at a deficit exceeding half a billion dollars since joining the Big Ten in 2014. Filed in Middlesex County Superior Court, … Read more
It sounds absurd at first. Bob Ross, gentle painter, certified national treasure, patron saint of public television, as an artificial intelligence. But stay with me, because I have a theory and nowhere else I got to be. Yes, I know the immediate objection. Artificial intelligence as a technical field predates Ross by decades. The Logic … Read more
SUMMARY The SEC and CFTC have ended years of crypto regulatory ambiguity with a joint interpretation that sorts digital assets into five categories and tells the market which are securities and which are not. Promises matter most. A token becomes a security when its issuer makes specific commitments to buyers and stops being one when … Read more
Two juries delivered consecutive verdicts last week that could permanently reshape how social media platforms operate in the United States. On Tuesday, March 24, a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million for failing to protect children from predators on Instagram and Facebook. On Wednesday, March 25, a Los Angeles jury found both Meta and Google’s YouTube liable for … Read more
SUMMARY Major insurers are already imposing absolute AI exclusions, sub-limits and intentional acts triggers that leave attorneys personally exposed, and that financial pressure will drive AI governance in legal practice far more effectively than any ethics opinion. Firms that cannot document their AI due diligence, vendor relationships and disclosure practices will find themselves uninsured, undefended … Read more
SUMMARY Most people assume their “financial adviser” is legally required to act in their best interest. Often that is not true. Brokers, registered investment advisers, dual registrants and credentialed planners operate under different legal standards, compensation structures and disclosure requirements. The differences directly affect what you pay and the quality of advice you receive. Knowing … Read more