We have all heard over and over again about lawyers who use Gen AI and fail to check the citations the tools provide. The dangers of hallucinations and inaccuracies when using Gen AI tools are well known, and a Court will likely have little sympathy for the lawyer who fails to check sources.

But what if an expert witness uses Gen AI to come up with nonexistent citations to support their declarations or testimony?

That very thing just happened in a case pending in Minnesota federal court, as reported by Luis Rijo in an article in PPC Land. Ironically, the expert in question, Professor Jeff Hancock, the Stanford Social Media Lab Director, offered a declaration in a case challenging the validity of a Minnesota statute regulating deepfake content in political campaigns. Hancock subsequently admitted using ChatGPT to help draft his declaration. The declaration included two citations to nonexistent academic articles and incorrectly attributed the authors in another citation.

Continue Reading Did Your Expert Use ChatGPT? You Might Want to Ask

Is the growing prevalence of lying and misinformation in public life spilling over into the courtroom, threatening the integrity of the legal system? The legal system faces an unprecedented challenge: how to uphold the rule of law in a world increasingly indifferent to truth.

Research indicates a significant increase in lying and misinformation among public figures in the U.S. There is a growing perception of dishonesty among politicians, with findings suggesting that both parties justify falsehoods to maintain partisan trust. Another study revealed that people often dismiss falsehoods when they align with their political beliefs, indicating a troubling acceptance of deceit in politics.

Continue Reading The Erosion of Truth: Are Lies Are Threatening the Legal System?

It’s a wrap. CES 2025 is finally over. Here’s my post for Above the Law summarizing my ten top takeaways in general. And the three things I think may most impact legal over the next year or so: the advent of AI agents, deepfakes and how AI will affect law firm managment and supervsion of lawyers and legal professionals.

A CES panel last week considered the future of work as AI becomes more and more engrained. Like most businesses, law firms need to think about what the AI tools mean for the future of legal work. What do law firms and, for that matter, lawyers and legal professionals need to do to prepare for the brave new world that AI may bring? 

Like most businesses, law firms will need to consider whether and how to reskill its work force. But to take advantage of AI for themselves and their clients, law firms may need to rethink their business model and what it means to be successful. What does it mean to be a good lawyer when AI can be used to better and more economically serve clients? A better baseline understanding may be needed before a firm can figure out how to best use AI and how to reskill its workers for that use. Here is my post for Above the Law discussing the panel presentation and what it means for the future of law and law firms.


Lies. Scams. Disinformation. Misinformation. Voice cloning. Likeness cloning. Deepfakes. Manipulated photographs. Manipulated videos. They all pose tough questions for lawyers, judges and juries.AI has exploded the possibilities of all these things to the point that it’s almost impossible to trust anything. Lack of trust has enormous implications for lawyers, judges, and the way we resolve disputes. Authentication can no longer be assumed. It is no longer the tail wagging the proverbial dog. It may be the dog.

Here’s my post for Above the Law on this issue after attending a CES panel discussion.

On a Sunday evening January 5, the Consumer Technology Association offered its 2025 Tech Trends presentation at CES as well as its Unveiled event offering media a sneak peak at this year’s exhibitors. Here is my summary of the Trends and how those trends might impact legal. I also talk what I thought was cool at Unveiled–legal or not. Stay tuned for more reports this week as I wander around Las Vegas, attend Keynotes, walk the Exhibit floor and soak up tech.

I’m happy to once again by in Las Vegas for the world’s biggest consumer electronics and technolgy show, CES. Like last year, I’m covering the show for Above the Law. Here is my preview of this year’s Show, along with my thoughts on why the Show is so relevant to legal. I wll be offering more insights and analysis as the week goes on!

To whom much is given, much is required.

Several years ago, my firm held a departure party for me as I transitioned from the full-time practice of law to full-time blogger and legal tech commenter. One of my peers, who I had practiced with for most of my career, walked up to me and said, “I sure wish I could do what you are doing.” I had known this guy most of my career and knew he had the resources to do something else and had expressed the desire to do so several times. So I said, Dave, there’s nothing stopping you from doing the same thing. He replied, I just can’t. Being a lawyer is not what I do, its who I am.

Continue Reading Why Lawyers Can’t Let Go: Identity, Privilege and The Impact on Clients