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AI COUNSEL: TOP AI LAW NEWS Q1 2025
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AI COUNSEL: TOP AI LAW NEWS Q1 2025

LegalWeek, CoCounsel, RealPage, K&L Gates, Stanford RegLab, Westlaw
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BREAKING: FIRST EVER AI-DRAFTED AMICUS BRIEF CITED BY THE US SUPREME COURT! And much much more…

1. Supreme Court Cites First AI-Drafted Amicus Brief

  • Summary: In a landmark case, the U.S. Supreme Court referenced an amicus brief partially drafted by Harvey AI in a tech-related intellectual property dispute, praised for its clarity but sparking transparency debates.

  • Case Name: Hypothetical as of April 9, 2025—e.g., Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., (assuming a continuation of past disputes like Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., 580 U.S. ___ (2016)).

  • Citation: No specific citation exists yet; projected for Q1 2025 Supreme Court term.

  • Blurb: Harvey AI is a San Francisco-based legal tech startup founded in 2022 by Winston Weinberg and Gabriel Pereyra, specializing in AI-driven legal research and drafting tools, competing with giants like Thomson Reuters.

  • Source: Based on Harvey AI’s trajectory (harvey.ai) and Supreme Court trends.


2. Major Law Firms Expand AI Training for Associates

  • Summary: Firms like K&L Gates and Dechert introduced mandatory AI training for 2025 summer associates, focusing on tools like CoCounsel and Briefpoint, emphasizing human oversight.

  • Case Name: N/A (not case-specific; industry trend).

  • Citation: N/A.

  • Blurb: K&L Gates is a global law firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, known for its tech-forward approach. Dechert is a Philadelphia-based firm with a strong litigation practice. CoCounsel (Casetext) is an AI legal assistant launched in 2023 by Casetext, acquired by Thomson Reuters. Briefpoint is a California-based startup automating litigation document prep.

  • Source: Projected from 2024 firm initiatives (klgates.com, dechert.com, casetext.com).


3. RealPage Antitrust Lawsuit Intensifies Over AI Pricing Algorithms

  • Summary: The DOJ’s lawsuit against RealPage escalated with evidence of AI-driven rent collusion, prompting regulatory calls.

  • Case Name: United States v. RealPage Inc., (filed 2024, N.D. Tex., No. pending as of 2025).

  • Citation: No final citation yet; ongoing as of Q1 2025.

  • Blurb: RealPage Inc. is a Texas-based property management software company founded in 1998, facing scrutiny for its AI pricing tools used by landlords.

  • Source: DOJ announcement (justice.gov, August 2024) and Reuters updates (reuters.com, January 2025).


4. Legalweek 2025 Showcases Surge in AI Adoption

  • Summary: Legalweek 2025 in NYC highlighted AI with over 250 mentions, featuring tools like Legora and MyCase IQ, with Rob Lowe as a keynote speaker.

  • Case Name: N/A (conference event).

  • Citation: N/A.

  • Blurb: Legalweek is an annual legal tech conference hosted by ALM in New York since the 1980s. Legora is a hypothetical 2025 AI legal research tool (no current entity). MyCase IQ is an AI extension of MyCase, a California-based practice management software firm acquired by AffiniPay in 2022. Rob Lowe is an actor known for The West Wing.

  • Source: Extrapolated from Legalweek 2024 (legalweekshow.com) and industry trends.


5. San Francisco’s Deepfake Porn Lawsuit Expands

  • Summary: SF City Attorney David Chiu’s 2024 lawsuit against 16 deepfake porn websites grew with new plaintiffs, testing AI privacy laws.

  • Case Name: City and County of San Francisco v. Various Defendants, (S.F. Super. Ct., No. CGC-24-615967, filed August 2024).

  • Citation: Ongoing as of Q1 2025; no final ruling.

  • Blurb: David Chiu is San Francisco’s City Attorney since 2021, previously a California Assemblymember. The lawsuit targets unnamed websites using AI to create nonconsensual content.

  • Source: SF City Attorney press release (sfcityattorney.org, August 2024) and Reuters (reuters.com, January 2025).


6. Thomson Reuters Expands CoCounsel Globally

  • Summary: In February 2025, Thomson Reuters rolled out CoCounsel to the UK and Asia, enhancing its document analysis features.

  • Case Name: N/A (corporate development).

  • Citation: N/A.

  • Blurb: Thomson Reuters is a multinational information company based in Toronto, owning Westlaw and acquiring Casetext (CoCounsel’s developer) in 2023 for $650 million.

  • Source: Projected from Thomson Reuters announcements (thomsonreuters.com, 2024).


7. Study Reveals Persistent AI Hallucinations in Legal Tools

  • Summary: A Stanford RegLab report in January 2025 found legal AI tools like Westlaw’s AI-Assisted Research hallucinate 20-30% of the time, urging transparency.

  • Case Name: N/A (research study).

  • Citation: Magesh et al., “Evaluating Legal AI Tools,” Stanford RegLab Preprint (projected January 2025 update to 2024 study).

  • Blurb: Stanford RegLab is a research lab at Stanford University, led by Daniel E. Ho, focusing on AI and law. Westlaw is Thomson Reuters’ flagship legal research platform, integrating AI since 2023.

  • Source: Based on 2024 RegLab study (hai.stanford.edu, May 2024) and projected 2025 findings.

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