Lack of oversight may be why younger lawyers use fake AI citations; ABA Journal, June 1, 2025

 DAVID WEISENFELD , ABA Journal; Lack of oversight may be why younger lawyers use fake AI citations

"Under Rule 5.1 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, a partner in a law firm and a lawyer who—individually or together with other lawyers—has managerial authority in a law firm must make “reasonable efforts” to ensure all lawyers in the firm conform to the Rules of Professional Conduct.

But what are reasonable efforts in the age of generative AI, which has seen lawyers being sanctioned for citing fictitious cases?...

In the 2024 Massachusetts case Smith v. Farwell, a lawyer for the plaintiff filed legal memoranda that cited and relied on fictitious cases. Acknowledging his ignorance of AI and disclaiming any intention to mislead the court, the lawyer attributed the inclusion of the cases to an associate and two recent law school graduates who had not yet passed the bar who worked on the brief.

The judge credited the attorney’s contrition, but he said it did not exonerate him of all fault and ordered him to pay a $2,000 sanction.

Just as ignorance of the law is no excuse, a lack of technical knowledge does not justify any sort of failure to supervise, according to Lucian Pera, a partner with Adams and Reese."

Trump presidential orders target law firms. Here's how some lawyers say that threatens the rule of law.; CBS News, May 4, 2025

Scott Pelley, CBS News; Trump presidential orders target law firms. Here's how some lawyers say that threatens the rule of law.

[Kip Currier: The Trump Executive Orders against select law firms violate the spirit and substance of foundational democratic beliefs and rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. 

The right to legal counsel is a fundamental precept of America's justice system and democracy.  Trump's Executive Orders imperil the right to legal counsel.

It is a conservative principle that finds its roots in the rebellion of the Thirteen Original Colonies against the human rights-starved tyranny of colonial England under King George III (1760-1820).

It is a tenet that has set the U.S. apart from authoritarian regimes.

The right to legal counsel is in jeopardy under the current administration.

The courageous, democratically-principled lawyers, law firms, judges, and legal organizations that are standing up and speaking out against these baseless unconstitutional actions deserve our admiration, support, and gratitude.]

[Excerpt]

"It was nearly impossible to get anyone on camera for this story because of the fear now running through our system of justice. In recent weeks, President Trump has signed orders against several law firms — orders with the power to destroy them. That matters because lawsuits have been a check on the president's power. Many firms and attorneys have been targeted, among them Marc Elias, a long time opponent of Trump who is the only lawyer the president has named who was willing to appear on 60 Minutes. Elias, and others, are warning that Trump's assault on the legal profession threatens the rule of law itself. Elias says that for him, it began with the president's personal grudge...

In a shock to the legal community, nine major firms went to the White House to make a deal. Some say they were pressured, not by a written order, but by a message from the White House threatening an order...

Marc Elias: It is trying to intimidate them the way in which a mob boss intimidates people in the neighborhood that he is seeking to either exact protection money from or engage in other nefarious conduct. I mean, the fact is that these law firms are being told, "If you don't play ball with us, maybe somethin' really bad will happen to you." 

The nine firms did not admit wrongdoing but, altogether, they agreed to give nearly $1 billion in legal services to causes that the firms and Trump support. 

Donald Ayer: Our whole system of government is at stake.

Attorney Donald Ayer should know. He argued before the Supreme Court for the Reagan administration. He was deputy attorney general for George H. W. Bush. Today, he teaches at Georgetown Law...

Four firms are standing up and fighting in court. Judges protected them with temporary restraining orders. Law professor Donald Ayer says, in his view, Trump's orders violate the constitutional rights to free speech, due process and the right to counsel."

In Suits and Ties, Lawyers Protest Trump’s Attacks on the Legal System; The New York Times, May 1, 2025

Santul Nerkar , The New York Times; In Suits and Ties, Lawyers Protest Trump’s Attacks on the Legal System The National Law Day of Action, which drew roughly 1,500 people in New York City, was organized to resist the president’s threats against judges and the nation’s jurisprudence.

"About 1,500 demonstrators, many of them lawyers sporting business attire, jammed the plaza outside Manhattan’s federal courthouse as part of the National Law Day of Action, chanting in favor of the rule of law and hoisting pocket Constitutions to the sky.

It was one of around 50 similar actions around the nation on Thursday, led by lawyers who said President Trump was threatening the foundation of America’s legal system.

“The rule of law protects us all. Without it we will surely fall,” the crowd chanted.

In his second term, Mr. Trump has aimed to hobble elite law firms, threatened to impeach judges and ignored their orders. For many in the profession, his actions have presented an unpalatable choice between compromising their values by staying silent and facing professional risk by speaking out."

If leaders stay silent, the US won’t survive Trump’s next 100 days; The Guardian, April 30, 2025

Robert Reich , The Guardian; If leaders stay silent, the US won’t survive Trump’s next 100 days

"Meanwhile, the regime continues to attack all the independent institutions in this country that have traditionally served as buffers against tyranny – universities, non-profits, lawyers and law firms, the media, science and researchers, libraries and museums, the civil service and independent agencies – threatening them with extermination or loss of funding if they do not submit to its oversight and demands...

We have witnessed what can happen in just the first 100 days. I’m not at all sure we can wait until the 2026 midterm elections and hope that Democrats take back at least one chamber of Congress. At the rate this regime is wreaking havoc, too much damage will have been done by then.

The nation is tottering on the edge of dictatorship.

We are no longer Democrats or Republicans. We are either patriots fighting the regime or we are complicit in its tyranny. There is no middle ground.

Soon, I fear, the regime will openly defy the supreme court. Americans must be mobilized into such a huge wave of anger and disgust that members of the House are compelled to impeach Trump (for the third time) and enough senators are moved to finally convict him.

Then this shameful chapter of American history will end."

Remember when ethics in government mattered?; Virginia Mercury, March 25, 2025

Ivy Main , Virginia Mercury; Remember when ethics in government mattered?

"Trading favors among the rich and powerful seems to be how it works in Trump’s America. Anyone who isn’t using his public position for his own gain is a chump. And while the laws prohibiting corruption are still on the books, Trump has ensured there are no federal prosecutors left with the independence to go after his allies. 

Besides which, in the unlikely event your cupidity actually gets you convicted of a crime, the president has a history going back to his first term of handing out pardons to MAGA loyalists regardless of their crimes. Sufficiently demonstrating fealty to the president may be enough to secure your place in his No Grifter Left Behind program. Frankly, the judge who sentences you has more to fear from the president than you do.  

By design, Trump’s attacks on American government, civil society and the world order have been so various and extreme as to leave opponents breathless. The resistance looks like a team of firefighters trying to deal with a large and very determined pack of juvenile arsonists. 

Yet, of all the fires now burning, Trump’s attacks on the rule of law might pose the single greatest threat to the country’s stability and prosperity. Trump’s firing of government watchdogs, blacklisting a law firm that represented his enemies, and defying judges who rule against him are unprecedented in modern U.S. history. Our economy as well as our democracy was built on a system of checks and balances that made corruption the newsworthy exception rather than the dismal norm."

Law Firm Bends in Face of Trump Demands; The New York Times, March 20, 2025

Michael S. Schmidt, The New York Times ; Law Firm Bends in Face of Trump Demands

[Kip Currier: This law firm's capitulation and transactionalism epitomizes the definition of craven: 

contemptibly lacking in courage; cowardly

It's also a terrible precedent to set for the rule of law, the legal profession, and democracy.]

[Excerpt]

"President Trump and the head of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP have reached a deal under which Mr. Trump will drop the executive order he leveled against the firm, Mr. Trump said on Thursday.

In the deal, Mr. Trump said, the firm agreed to a series of commitments, including to represent clients no matter their political affiliation and contribute $40 million in legal services to causes Mr. Trump has championed, including “the President’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, and other mutually agreed projects.

It’s unclear how the money will be used to help the task force. The firm, Mr. Trump said, also agreed to conduct an audit to ensure its hiring practices are merit based “and will not adopt, use, or pursue any DEI policies.”"

AI in law firms: Ethics panels clearing path forward; Minnesota Lawyer, February 21, 2025

Nicole Black, BridgeTower Media Newswires , Minnesota Lawyer; AI in law firms: Ethics panels clearing path forward

"With the arrival of generative artificial intelligence (AI), a roadmap to ethical adoption was needed, and quickly, given the unprecedented rate of advancement. Fortunately, bar associations nationwide rose to the occasion, issuing timely and in-depth guidance in months, not years. Since the spring of 2023, many jurisdictions released guidance or opinions on the ethics of using AI in law firms: California, Florida, New Jersey, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, the American Bar Association, Virginia, D.C., and New Mexico.

Most recently, North Carolina joined their ranks in November, handing down 2024 Formal Ethics Opinion 1.  In the opinion, the Ethics Committee addressed six inquiries about ethical AI adoption."

Biglaw Firm Quietly Begins Purging Diversity Language From Website; Above The Law, February 7, 2025

Joe Patrice , Above The Law; Biglaw Firm Quietly Begins Purging Diversity Language From Website

"This is the story we hoped wouldn’t happen, but let’s be honest — of course it did. It was always going to happen. 

Between the administration publicly threatening criminal action against private sector companies over diversity initiatives and law firms rushing to curry favor with the White House, it was only a matter of time before a Biglaw firm tried to memory-hole prior diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

As we’ve monitored Biglaw websites over the couple weeks since Trump returned to power, we took heart every time we noticed that a major firm still hadn’t tried to subtly purge its public-facing site of any mention of diversity. Unfortunately, though perhaps inevitably, the legal community is no longer pitching a perfect game...

The entire “Diversity and Inclusion”-turned-“Opportunity and Inclusion” page has changed. The old website included visual representations backing up the firm’s commitment. For example:

The accomplishments of these attorneys are now deleted. The page still offers general statements about inclusion, but any specific claims about individual achievements are gone, hiding from public view any way to measure the firm’s success in this area. The page also linked to “a robust educational toolkit” developed by the firm and a block set off in all caps recognizing that “WE PLEDGE TO FOLLOW THE MANSFIELD RULE.” 

And for what? If firms think scrubbing diversity efforts will shield them, they should ask Target how that worked out. The retail giant backtracked on its public DEI commitments — only to get sued by Trump’s fellow travelers anyway. These people won’t be satisfied until the entire workforce looks like a 1950s country club. It undermines firm culture for nothing."

UC Berkeley Law School To Offer Advanced Law Degree Focused On AI; Forbes, August 16, 2024

  Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes; UC Berkeley Law School To Offer Advanced Law Degree Focused On AI

"The University of California, Berkeley School of Law has announced that it will offer what it’s calling “the first-ever law degree with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI).” The new AI-focused Master of Laws (LL.M.) program is scheduled to launch in summer 2025.

The program, which will award an AI Law and Regulation certificate for students enrolled in UC Berkeley Law’s LL.M. executive track, is designed for working professionals and can be completed over two summers or through remote study combined with one summer on campus...

According to Assistant Law Dean Adam Sterling, the curriculum will cover topics such as AI ethics, the fundamentals of AI technology, and current and future efforts to regulate AI. “This program will equip participants with in-depth knowledge of the ethical, regulatory, and policy challenges posed by AI,” Sterling added. “It will focus on building practice skills to help them advise and represent leading law firms, AI companies, governments, and non-profit organizations.”"