Category: News Feeds

Ed.
Note:
Welcome
to
our
daily
feature

Trivia
Question
of
the
Day!

Since
the
2018
Supreme
Court
case

opened
the
door
to
online
sports
betting
by
declaring
the
Professional
and
Amateur
Sports
Protection
Act
(PASPA)
unconstitutional,
what
is
the
increased
likelihood
of
bankruptcy
filings
in
the
states
that
have
legalized
online
sports
betting?

Hint:
According
to
reporting
by
Bloomberg
Law,
Americans
are
projected
to
make
$35
billion
in
legal
bets
this
NFL
season.

See
the
answer
on
the
next
page.

The
first
bullet
point
in
any
conversation
about
generative
AI
is
speed.
Check
out
how
fast

it
found
that
key
document,
look
at
how
fast

it
put
together
that
pitch
deck,
observe
how
quickly

it
got
lawyers
sanctioned.
That’s
not
to
say
there
isn’t
a
ton
of
conversation
about
reliability
and
confidentiality,
but
it
boils
down
to
speed.
If
AI
wasn’t
fast,
we
wouldn’t
be
talking
about
it
at
all.

But
the
talk
about
AI’s
speed
always
focuses
on
the
front-end
of
the
workflow.
AI
can
get
that
draft
faster
or
summarize
the
documents
faster,
which
may
be
true,
but
as
a
selling
point
overlooks
how
AI
can
speed
up
the
back-end
by
providing
work
product
that’s
easier
for
lawyers
to
review,
query,
and
edit.

This
oft-neglected
angle
struck
me
during
ILTACON
2024,
as
NetDocuments
showed
me
its
latest
AI-driven
tool,

ndMAX
Assist
—
the
logical
evolution

from
its
PatternBuilder
work.
The
ndMAX
Assist
tool
gives
users
an
intelligent
agent
that
takes
their
natural
queries
to
interact
with
the
documents.
Another
reminder
that
generative
AI’s
most
impactful
use
case
right
now
might
be
in
giving
less
tech
savvy
lawyers
as
smooth
and
comfortable
user
experience
to
entice
them
into
working
directly
with
existing
tools.
Why
ask
an
associate
to
go
into
the
system
and
find
something
when
pinging
the
generative
AI
tool
allows
the
senior
lawyer
to
do
it
directly?

Josh
Baxter,
CEO
of
NetDocuments,
emphasized
that
ndMAX
Assist
creates
“an
easy,
accessible
way
for
legal
organizations
to
introduce
AI-powered
capabilities
into
their
everyday
workflows.”
And
it
does
this
without
lawyers
needing
to
export
content
into
a
third-party
platform,
respecting
the
ethical
walls
law
firms
erect
around
client
data.
So
unlike
ChatGPT
stealing
the
headlines
and
racking
up
sanctions,
ndMAX
Assist
respects
security
protocols
and
operates
in
a
familiar
environment.
Having
Microsoft
Copilot
integration
also
allows
users
to
securely
tap
into
Copilot’s
capabilities
directly
within
the
NetDocuments
environment.

However,
this
is
all
still
about
speeding
up
the
front-end
of
the
lawyer
workflow.
But
during
the
demonstration,
NetDocs
shared
a
client
case
that
landed
a
little
bit
different.
According
to
NetDocs,
Boies
Schiller
recently
hailed
the
company’s
technology
for
helping
get
the
firm
up
to
speed
on
a
major,
discovery
intensive
matter
with
a
tight
deadline.
Using
generative
AI
to
speed
the
summarization
of
50-some
odd
deposition
transcripts
overnight
is
a
classic
example
of
getting
work
fast,
but
what
stood
out
was
an
offhand
remark
about
the
NetDocs
generated
summaries

sped
up
the
review
of
the
work
product.

Traditionally,
this
project
would
require
snagging
10
or
12
associates
who
thought
they
were
about
to
go
home
for
the
weekend
and
telling
them
to
start
diving
into
dense
transcripts
about
a
case
based
on
a
30,000-foot
description
with
only
the
benefit
of
the
slice
of
discovery
that
they’re
assigned.
The
record
in
a
long-running
litigation
can
get
more
self-referential
than
the
MCU
and
some
poor
associate
assigned
three
late-stage
transcripts
can
easily
miss
context
and
nuance
buried
in
earlier
depositions.

By
extension,
this
leads
to
a
jumble
of
inconsistent
write-ups
full
of
irrelevant
details
or
ultimately
abandoned
theories.
And
that’s
before
considering
that
some
associates
just
write
better,
more
consumable
summaries
than
others.
This
variability
forces
a
partner
to
spend
the
weekend
wading
through
all
of
it
—
just
to
figure
out
what’s
actually
relevant.
It’s
billable
legal
work,
sure,
but
it
also
sucks.

Interrogating
the
discovery
set
through
a
tool
like
ndMAX
Assist
will
produce

consistent
memos,
produced
in
the
same
voice,
informed
by
the
entire
universe
of
material.
Now
there’s
no
rogue
insights
or
unnecessary
tangents
and
senior
lawyers
trying
to
get
a
handle
on
what’s
in
each
of
these
transcripts
and
what
needs
to
be
revisited
for
further
focus
can
swiftly
push
through
the
process
with
a
set
of
memos
in
the
same
voice
with
the
same
level
of
detail.

BSF
partner
David
Simons
confirmed
the
story,
explaining
that
the
team
was
impressed
with
the
back-end
accuracy
of
the
NetDocs
generated
summaries
and
“having
these
in
a
consistent
voice…
allowing
apple
to
apple
comparisons
without
worrying
about
different
writing
styles
or
technical
abilities.”

AI
skeptics
worried
about
asking
an
AI
to
produce
these
summaries
miss
the
whole
point.
This
isn’t
turning
over
legal
work
to
a
machine
because
no
one
is
going
to
take
these
summaries,
crack
their
knuckles,
and
head
into
court.
But
you
also
wouldn’t
trust
a
team
of
first-year
memos
for
that
either.
This
is
about
getting
to
the
next
stage
where
you
understand
who
the
players
are
and
their
relationships
to
each
other
and
how
the
timeline
went
down
and
it’s
all
not-very-intellectually
demanding
stuff
that
AI
can
deliver
faster
and
in
a
form
that
lawyers

can
work
with
faster.
They’re
on
to
the
stage
of
tasking
associates
to
dig
deeper
into
specific
transcripts
or
begin
researching
key
concepts
within
hours
instead
of
days.

“At
the
end
of
the
day,
in
a
situation
like
that
where
you
want
to
do
the
same
thing
50
times,
asking
the
same
thing,
getting
the
same
meticulously
approved
prompt,
or
series
of
prompts
that
are
strung
together
to
get
you
an
outcome
that
you
feel
good
about,
that’s
important.
And
that’s
something
that
you
have
to
have
a
tool
like
ndMAX
to
do,”
Chief
Product
Officer
Dan
Hauck
said.

No
one
expects
front-end
speed
to
disappear
from
AI
sales
pitches.
Turning
a
100-hour
project
into
a
couple
hours
will
always
be
the
sexier
headline
for
firms
and
(more
so)
clients.
But
don’t
blow
off
the
downstream
workflow
advantages
either.
Legal
work,
in
particular
litigation,
is
an
iterative
process
meaning
the
faster
lawyers
can
move
from
absorbing
new
information
to
formulating
the
next
research
task
is
just
as
important
as
turbocharging
the
process
of
accumulating
the
information.

Time
—
especially
billable
time
—
is
fungible
after
all.

---

Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of

Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or

Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a

Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.

Ed.
note:
Welcome
to
our
daily
feature,

Quote
of
the
Day.

Associates
aren’t
asking
for
a
catered
snack
service,
they
are
just
looking
for
the
firm
to
provide
some
sustenance
as
an
acknowledgment
that
we
sometimes
get
stuck
in
the
office
when
we
weren’t
planning
to
be.

—
A
midlevel
associate
at
an
undisclosed
firm,
in
response
to
a
question
found
in
the

American
Lawyer
Midlevel
Associates
Survey
about
what
their
firm
could
do
better
in
order
to
retain
associates.
More
notable
and
quotable
responses
can
be
found

here.

---

Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to

email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on

X/Twitter
and

Threads
or
connect
with
her
on

LinkedIn.

Pauline
Newman
has
spent
the
last
year
fighting
for
the
right
to
do
her
job.

We
spoke
at
length
with
her
about
the
Federal
Circuit’s
request
that
she
step
down
and
her
eventual
functional
impeachment.
Despite
recorded
public
appearances
that

show
a
clear
ability
to
discuss
patent
law
and
how
subject
matter
eligibility
impacts
patent
marketability,
the
court
has
maintained
that
she
is
not
physically
or
mentally
fit
for
the
job,
taunting
her
to
submit
to
testing
to
prove
otherwise.
After
the
initial
evaluations
found
her
sound
of
mind
and
body,
she’s
refused
to
comply
with
further
testing
requests
and
opted
to
fight
it
out
in
court.

Reuters
covered
the
most
recent
outcome
of
that
battle:

The
U.S.
Court
of
Appeals
for
the
Federal
Circuit’s
11-member
Judicial
Council
in
a
two-page
order
unanimously
adopted
a
recommendation
by
a
three-judge
committee
investigating
Newman
to
extend
a
suspension
that
began
in
September
2023.

The
court
may
renew
the
suspension
if
she
chooses
not
to
submit
to
more
testing
when
it
is
over.
Newman
is
in
a
rough
position.
Being
forced
to
undergo
another
examination
is
a
wrong
in
itself,
but
who
is
to
say
that
her
problems
would
go
away
even
if
she
followed
through?
We’ve
already
seen
that 
her
colleagues

could
effectively
misread
and
discredit
if
and
when
a
doctor’s
evaluation
comes
out
in
Newman’s
favor.
What
prevents
the
panel
from
ignoring
any
new
results
that
don’t
conform
to
their
suspicions?

Newman’s
lawyers
plan
to
appeal
the
order.

Court
Extends
Suspension
Of
97-Year-Old
US
Federal
Judge
[Reuters]

Earlier: A
Lifetime-Appointed
Judge
Was
Accused
Of
Not
Being
Able
To
Do
Her
Job.
She
Brought
Receipts.

Pauline
Newman’s
Doctor
Has
Some
Choice
Words
For
The
Judicial
Panel
That
Ruled
Against
Her

Pauline
Newman
Speaks:
ATL
Interviews
The
Judge
Who’s
Fighting
To
Do
Her
Job

---

Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
 He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
cannot
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.

We
have
some
sad
news
to
report
out
of
California,
where
a
Biglaw
firm’s
managing
partner
recently
passed
away
following
a
battle
with
cancer.

John
Alessio,
who
served
as
managing
partner
of
Am
Law
200
firm
Procopio,
Cory,
Hargreaves
&
Savitch,
fought
courageously
against
his
cancer
diagnosis
for
almost
as
long
as
he
served
as
the
firm’s
leader.
The
American
Lawyer
had
additional
details
on
his
life:

While
practicing
law,
Alessio
focused
on
business
and
employment
litigation
and
class
actions,
and
developed
expertise
in
trade
secret
issues
and
contractual
disputes
in
the
U.S.
and
Mexico.
He
also
oversaw
Procopio
Cory’s
recruitment
of
new
staff
and
expansion
into
Orange
County,
Las
Vegas
and
Washington,
D.C.

Alessio
was
a
graduate
of
the
University
of
San
Diego,
where
he
obtained
his
bachelor’s
degree
in
business
and
a
law
degree.
He
was
an
active
member
of
his
community,
founding
the
nonprofit
Red
Autismo,
which
aided
autistic
children
in
Los
Cabos,
and
serving
as
a
director
for
the
World
Design
Capital
San
Diego-Tijuana.
Alessio
also
was
active
in
the
local
Entrepreneurs
Organization
and
PEERS
San
Diego.

We
here
at
Above
the
Law
extend
our
condolences
to
John
Alessio’s
family,
friends,
and
colleagues
during
this
difficult
time.

Procopio
Cory
Managing
Partner
John
Alessio
Dies
at
55
[American
Lawyer]

---

Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to

email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on

X/Twitter
and

Threads
or
connect
with
her
on

LinkedIn.

Former
president
Donald
Trump
isn’t
known
for
being
considerate.
He
cruelly

mocks
and

demeans
people
—
in
fact,

it’s
a
bit
of
a

calling
card
for
the
45th
president
of
the
United
States.
But
usually
when
he
says
mean
things
about
people,
they
aren’t
standing
right
next
to
him.

On
Friday,
Trump
gave
a
press
conference
after

appearing
in
court
to
appeal
the
$5
million
verdict
against
him
for
sexual
abuse
and
defamation
in
the
E.
Jean
Carroll
case.
He
used
that
opportunity
to
rail
against
the
facts
of
the
case,
Carroll,
the
judicial
system,
New
York
City,
and…
his
own
lawyers?

He
said,
“I’m
disappointed
in
my
legal
talent,
I’ll
be
honest
with
you.”
He
continued,
“They’re
good,
they’re
good
people,
they’re
talented
people,
but
today
at
the
trial
they
didn’t
mention
the
dress.
A
Monica
Lewinsky
type
dress
was
a
big
part
of
the
trial.
I
said,
‘why
didn’t
you
mention
that?’”

All
while
flanked
by
his
lawyers
including
Alina
Habba,
Will
Scharf,
and
D.
John
Sauer.

But
Trump
wasn’t
done
trashing
his
lawyers.

As
the
former
president
notes
in
his
comments,
that
lawyer
(likely
Joe
Tacopina)
is
“not
with
us
any
longer,”
meaning
he
wasn’t
one
of
the
ones
awkwardly
standing
next
to
him
as
he
bashed
them.
So
at
least
that’s
something.

---

Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of

The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of

Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email

her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter

@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon

@[email protected].

Racist
judges
doing
and
saying
racist
things
is
nothing
new:
There’s
the

Tennessee
judge
who
was
caught
jailing
Black
boys
with
a
fake
law
for
essentially
breathing,

the
Louisiana
judge
who
started
yelling
slurs
because
of
“allergy
medicine,”
and
who
could
forget
the
legal
mastermind
who
penned
Dred
Scott.
But
those
are
all
old
hat.
We’ve
been
due
for
a
racist
judge
iOS
update
—
and
2024
has
delivered.

“I’m
not
systemically
racist,
I’m
new
racist”?
That’s
the
kind
of
line
you’d
only
hear
from
an
improv
comic
riffing
off
the
words
“racism”
and
“Mean
Girls.”

There
is
no
real
context
that
makes
sense
of
a
judge
sharing
off-the-cuff
disparaging
remarks
about
all
Black
Americans,
but
I’m
glad
that
this
was
caught
on
tape.
Detroit
has
a
sizable
Black
population
and
it
was
only
a
matter
of
time
before
another
Black
American
was
unfortunate
enough
to
land
before
her
gavel.
Hopefully
we
can
take
her
at
her
word
when
she
said
that
she’s
recently
racist
—
sure
would
be
a
shame
if
she’s
been
back-dooring
her
prejudice
against
Blacks
over
the
span
of
her
13-year
career.

Someone
should
really
look
in
to
this
not-systemic-just-newly-racist
thing;
it
might
be
able
to
partially
explain

why
judges
give
Black
people
more
jail
time
on
average
than
their
White
peers.

---

Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
 He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
cannot
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.