Keep your finger on the legal world's pulse

Chicago-based Edelson is proposing a class action lawsuit against a firm that claims it uses artificial intelligence to help consumers and bills itself as "the world's first robot lawyer." The proposed lawsuit in San Francisco state court dated March 3 claims that DoNotPay "is not actually a robot, a lawyer, nor a law firm." The case has been filed by Edelson on behalf of California resident Jonathan Faridian, who said he used San Francisco-based DoNotPay to draft demand letters, a small claims court filing and LLC operating agreements and got "substandard and poorly done" results. In response to the claims DoNotPay CEO Joshua Browder said that the claims have "no merit" and that Faridian has "had dozens of successful consumer rights cases with DoNotPay." With the rise of OpenAI's ChatGPT and other AI "chatbots" in recent months, the potential of generative artificial intelligence tools for applications like legal work has gained momentum. When Browder announced on Twitter earlier this year that DoNotPay intended to utilise an AI chatbot to assist a defendant in traffic court, the announcement caused a stir. The lawsuit claims DoNotPay violated California's unfair competition law by engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. It seeks a court order declaring the company's conduct unlawful and unspecified damages.

 

U.S. News

Better bench-bar communication has been called for following the U.S. 3rd Circuit's proposal to impose a 5p.m. filing deadline, which is aimed at improving lawyers’ work-life balance. However, lawyers have complained that they have not been consulted about the change and have inundated the court with criticism. The Pennsylvania and Philadelphia bar associations, the Third Circuit Bar Association, the Department of Justice and the Pennsylvania ACLU are among the organizations that submitted public comments to the court objecting to the change. Law firms and individual lawyers have also expressed their disapproval of what several attorneys called an unusual flood of interest in local rulemaking. Stevens & Lee shareholder Karl Myers, co-chair of the PBA appellate advocacy committee, said the proposal has been resoundingly unpopular. Of those who have strong opinions, he estimated that “99% [are] opposed to the rule change.” Deputy circuit executive of the Third Circuit Joel McHugh declined to say how many comments the court received in response to its proposal. Witold Walczak, legal director of the Pennsylvania ACLU, said seeing the court’s feedback would shed light on the broader response. “For public accountability, it would be helpful for the public to assess whether the court’s actually following the comments or following one particular constituency,” he said.

 

Law

A new industry report from BigHand has found that law firms are increasingly facing demands for financial transparency and certainty from clients. After polling senior legal finance heads, managing partners, legal project management and finance systems leaders from law firms of at least 100 lawyers across the UK and North America, it was found that 54% of North American firms and 45% of UK firms saw an increase in such demands. The report also noted that “It is safe to assume matter budgets have an influence on profit and leakage."

 

Legal Technology

According to a new ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, employers can no longer limit workers’ ability to speak about their company in exchange for settlement or severance payments. In layoffs or workplace legal disputes, these agreements—which typically include comprehensive nondisparagement and secrecy clauses—are frequently used by employers to guarantee that workers won't denigrate the business in future. However, the NLRB has concluded that these clauses are illegal under the National Labor Relations Act if they require employees to give up their rights, such as the right to speak with their employer about the conditions of their departure or how they were treated. Steven Suflas, a labor attorney with Holland & Hart, said that for companies, this ruling represents a “big departure” because such clauses are “absolutely standard" in separation agreements and settlement agreements." Suflas added that employers should think carefully before including such language in separation agreements. One risk-free solution would be to delete these provisions entirely. Otherwise, employers could also attempt to include “carve-out language” that signals the restrictions do not prevent employees from filing charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Labor Department, Suflas said.

 

Washington Post

A court filing has revealed that a high-profile member of former U.S. President Donald Trump's legal team that challenged his 2020 election loss, agreed to be censured by a Colorado court after admitting to making false claims about voter fraud. Under the agreement between Jenna Ellis and Colorado attorney disciplinary officials, Ellis acknowledged making 10 "misrepresentations" about the 2020 election. According to the opinion by Judge Bryon Large, the state's presiding disciplinary judge, the misrepresentations included saying Trump's legal team could "prove" the election was stolen and that the results were "fraudulent." The opinion said that Ellis and the state officials agreed that the statements violated a Colorado rule against attorneys engaging in conduct "involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." In a statement, Ellis' attorney Michael Melito said that his client "remains a practicing attorney in good standing in the State of Colorado. In a very heated political climate, we secured that correct outcome." Colorado's Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel said the censure "reinforces that even if engaged in political speech, there is a line attorneys cannot cross."

 

Bloomberg Law

U.S. News

U.S. News

Los Angeles Times

Affiliates of Burford Capital have been sued by Sysco Corp. who claim that the litigation finance firm wrongfully meddled in the food distributor's efforts to settle several major antitrust cases in which it's a plaintiff. The company said in the suit filed Wednesday that Burford obtained an arbitration ruling blocking Sysco from closing deals to resolve its price-fixing lawsuits against major poultry processors and meatpackers. The settlements were excessively low in comparison to the claims' worth, according to Burford, which invested $140m in the associated litigation. The lawsuit funder was accused by Sysco of "putting its own avarice ahead of Sysco's rights and interests as the plaintiff."

 

Bloomberg Law

TikTok is making moves to tackle increasing scruting from U.S. legislators and regulators keen on curtailing Chinese influence. The short-form video, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, is planning on hiring up to 60 lawyers around the world this year, according to reports. About 100 postings for in-house legal positions at TikTok are now listed on an online job website for the video-sharing service. Regulational affairs, privacy, product monetization, litigation, employment, compliance, and anti-money laundering are just a few of the topics covered in the job advertisements, which include both lawyer and non-lawyer positions.

 

Bloomberg Law

Chicago-based Adler Murphy & McQuillen and its 23 lawyers is being merged with Hinshaw & Culbertson to form an aviation and aerospace practice. In its 28-year history, Adler Murphy has represented airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, airports and aviation insurance carriers. Bloomberg notes that the acquisition, effective April 1, is the latest in a string of mergers this year. Holland & Knight said it will be combining with Nashville-founded Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis; Morrison & Foerster announced its acquisition of litigation boutique Durie Tangri; and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe will be merging with Washington’s Buckley.

 

New Jersey-based Ginarte Gonzalez Winograd and name partner Joseph Ginarte are facing legal action from fired equity partner Michael Gallardo, who it is claimed was let go after confronting Mr. Ginarte regarding the cover-up of a legal malpractice matter and alleged sexual harassment of an employee. Gallardo's suit raises claims including involuntary disassociation, breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference with prospective contract and prospective economic advantage and minority partner oppression.

 

Law

Holland & Knight said revenues increased 9.8% to a record $1.54bn in 2022 as the Tampa, Florida-headquartered firm continued to benefit from the merger with Dallas, Texas-based Thompson & Knight.

 

Bloomberg Law