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
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
SUMMARY Having witnessed Enron’s collapse firsthand, the author sees striking parallels in private equity today. Continuation funds allow general partners to control both sides of transactions, collect multiple fees and exploit conflicts of interest, echoing Enron’s self-dealing. Oversight is limited, information asymmetry rampant and fiduciary standards ignored, creating a system that benefits insiders while trapping … Read more
SUMMARY Attorney-client privilege faces significant challenges with AI use. When lawyers input client information into AI systems, they risk waiving privilege by sharing confidential data with third-party providers. The Rules of Professional Conduct require attorneys to maintain confidentiality, demonstrate technological competence and ensure adequate safeguards. Lawyers should anonymize information, use specialized legal AI tools with … Read more
SUMMARY Jane Goodall’s passing marks the end of a transformative life that redefined our understanding of intelligence across species boundaries. Her decades of chimpanzee research revealed tool use, emotional depth and cultural transmission in non-human primates, challenging human exceptionalism. Her legacy now resonates with contemporary AI development, as both biological and artificial intelligence compel us … Read more
Sooner or later a startup lawyer will hear the suggestion that payment be postponed or waived in exchange for equity. What is the lawyer to do when the client cannot (or would rather not) pay and offers stock instead? On its face, taking equity looks like a practical solution. The client preserves cash, the lawyer … Read more
This article was originally published in the April 2025 issue of New Jersey Lawyer, a publication of the New Jersey State Bar Association, and is reprinted with permission. Recent developments, such as the California Bar’s 2024 guidelines on AI use in legal practice, underscore the urgency of challenges faced by law firms in balancing technological … Read more
As a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for New York State who defended against habeas corpus petitions, I’ve witnessed firsthand how this ancient writ serves as the last line of defense for those challenging potentially unconstitutional imprisonment. What began as technical work evolved into a profound appreciation for habeas corpus as a cornerstone of American … Read more
In the realm of constitutional jurisprudence, few principles are as foundational as due process, a concept enshrined in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. This bedrock principle, which prohibits government deprivation of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” faces a significant test through the Trump administration’s novel application … Read more
As I write this, the United States is navigating complex legal and governance challenges that test the boundaries of established rule of law principles. The recent transition of power following the 2024 presidential election has prompted renewed attention to questions about executive authority, regulatory frameworks and judicial independence. Legal scholars and policy analysts across the … Read more
In August 2024, a class action lawsuit was filed against Anthropic PBC, a technology company recognized for developing advanced AI capabilities, notably its Claude family of large language models (LLMs). The lawsuit, spearheaded by authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson, accuses Anthropic of unlawfully utilizing copyrighted materials—specifically, a vast collection of pirated … Read more