Keep your finger on the legal world's pulse

The heirs of Suzanne Adams, an 83-year-old woman from Connecticut, are suing OpenAI and Microsoft for wrongful death, claiming that Open AI's ChatGPT bot  exacerbated her son Stein-Erik Soelberg's paranoid delusions, leading to her murder. The lawsuit alleges that the AI chatbot reinforced harmful beliefs, stating: “Throughout these conversations, ChatGPT reinforced a single, dangerous message: Stein-Erik could trust no one in his life - except ChatGPT itself.” Soelberg, who had a history of mental instability, fatally attacked his mother before taking his own life. The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court, accuses OpenAI's close business partner Microsoft of approving the 2024 release of a more dangerous version of ChatGPT “despite knowing safety testing had been truncated.” The case is the first wrongful death suit linking an AI chatbot to homicide rather than suicide. OpenAI said it is reviewing the allegations and continues to improve its AI's responses to mental health issues.

 

U.S. News

A bipartisan group of state attorneys general has warned 13 companies including Microsoft, Meta, Google and Apple that their chatbots' "delusional outputs" could be violating state laws. In a letter made public on Wednesday, dozens of attorneys general said the chatbots "encouraged users' delusions," precipitating mental health risks for children and adults. They urged the companies to allow independent audits of their products, adding that state and federal regulators should be able to review them.

 

TechCrunch

Reuters

Marcus Cobb, the former CEO of Nashville-based tech start-up Mozaic Payments, has been charged with defrauding a private equity firm out of $20m. The indictment, unsealed in Boston, alleges Cobb conspired to commit wire fraud by misrepresenting Mozaic's profitability.  Boston-based Volition Capital invested $20m in September 2023, demonstrating its faith in Mozaic's revenue-sharing app for the entertainment industry. However, the app was non-functional, and Cobb used the funds for lavish travel. By February 2025, nearly all the investment was spent, precipitating Mozaic's collapse after the fraud was uncovered.

 

U.S. News

Apple chief executive Tim Cook recently met with U.S. House members to oppose the App Store Accountability Act, which aims to enforce age verification for minors using apps. The company argues that the bill could lead to the collection of sensitive data about children, shifting the responsibility to parents instead. "Not all legislative proposals are equally protective of privacy," stated Hilary Ware, Apple's global head of privacy. While public support for age verification is high, with 81% of Americans favouring parental consent for social media accounts, Apple and Google warn that verifying ages could require extensive data collection.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

Michael Jeffries, the former chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch, has been declared competent to stand trial on federal sex trafficking charges after being hospitalized for Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia, and a traumatic brain injury. His attorney, Brian Bieber, noted that other medical professionals had previously deemed him incompetent. Mr Jeffries has pleaded not guilty to charges involving the use of modelling jobs to lure men to drug-fuelled sex parties. His trial is set to proceed as discussions continue between prosecutors and his legal team regarding the case's status.

 

ABC News

Bloomberg

Massive debt-fueled mergers are surging back on Wall Street, with Paramount’s $77.9bn hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery - backed by $54bn in debt - highlighting a record year for $10bn-plus deals. Enabled by robust lending from banks and private credit firms, the trend is reviving investor unease, especially in sectors like media where past deals have faltered. Paramount aims to restore an investment-grade rating within two years through cost cuts, but bondholders remain wary, recalling Warner’s earlier debt struggles. Analysts warn that such aggressive financing strategies carry high risk if market conditions shift.

 

Wall Street Journal

In 2025, federal tax prosecutions in the U.S. have fallen to their lowest level in decades, declining over 27% in the 11 months to the beginning of November from the previous year. The decline is attributed to the Trump administration's significant cuts to the IRS' criminal investigative unit and a shift in focus towards immigration enforcement. David Hubbert, a senior fellow at the Tax Law Center at New York University, said: “Decreasing criminal enforcement across all types of taxpayers would signal an indifference to cheating.” The Justice Department's Tax Division was closed, leading to a loss of experienced attorneys, further exacerbating the decline in tax prosecutions. As of November 1st, only 160 prosecutions were initiated, compared to 420 the previous year. The IRS's staffing has also decreased, with over 330 employees cut, impacting its ability to enforce tax laws effectively.

 

Reuters

Daljit Doogal has been re-elected as Chairman and CEO of Foley & Lardner for a second four-year term starting May 1, 2026. Under his leadership, the firm achieved significant growth, with total revenue reaching a record $1.275bn in 2025, marking a 24% increase over three years. Additionally, profits per partner rose by 27% to $2.298m. The firm also expanded its presence by opening new offices in Raleigh and Nashville.

 

Bloomberg Law

Nathaniel Ward, a seasoned litigation and arbitration practitioner, has joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as a litigation partner in Washington, DC. His appointment was confirmed on December 9, and follows a 12-year tenure at Jones Day, where Ward became a partner in January 2022.

 

CDR

Germany's chancellor Friedrich Merz has said foreign companies must obey German and EU rules when they operate there. "Just as European and German companies have to follow the rules in America, sometimes facing very draconian punishments, so American companies must accept our rules here, and if they don't, then there are possibilities for sanctioning them," Merz said following U.S. President Donald Trump's criticism of an EU penalty imposed on social media platform X.

 

Reuters

The U.S. government's statistical system is facing severe challenges due to significant staff layoffs, funding cuts, and political interference, according to a report by the American Statistical Association. One agency reportedly lost 95% of its staff, while others experienced reductions of up to 40%. The report highlights that the cuts threaten the integrity of data essential for informed decision-making across various sectors, including the economy and education. “The statistical system is still functioning, but the threats are very serious,” said Beth Jarosz, vice president of the Association of Public Data Users, which was not involved in the report. “There are staffing reductions, contracted services that have been reduced. We're seeing that showing up in the cancellation of data products, the reduction in data collection on things like consumer prices.”

 

U.S. News