Insights < BACK TO ALL INSIGHTS
AI Conversations Feel Private. Could They Be Privileged?
FEATURED
June 11, 2025
AI Conversations Feel Private. Could They Be Privileged?
By: Robert Ward
The New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI continues to spark debate, and not just about copyright. Most recently, a federal magistrate judge ordered OpenAI to preserve chats that the company might otherwise have deleted at a user’s request. In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that it may be time for a version of the attorney-client or physician-patient privilege, but for AI. While any attempt to define such an “AI privilege” would involve tackling difficult questions about our relationships with AI systems, the more likely barrier will be the general reluctance to recognize new evidentiary privileges, particularly in federal courts. The expansive AI privilege Altman appears to envision is therefore unlikely to materialize any time soon. The premise of Altman’s…
It is Time for a “Second Look” at Legislative Efforts to Combat Mass Incarceration & Recidivism
May 19, 2025
It is Time for a “Second Look” at Legislative Efforts to Combat Mass Incarceration & Recidivism
By: Sara Dalsheim
Government efficiency and spending is a hot topic of controversy in the United States. But even in the context of heated “DOGE” fights, there are proven examples of government efficiency and reduced spending that are clearly working—the passing of measures like the Second Chance and First Step Acts in an effort for mass incarceration and recidivism reduction. The U.S. government spends a total of $80.7…
A Luigi Mangione Death Penalty Trial
April 15, 2025
A Luigi Mangione Death Penalty Trial
By: James Trusty
The Attorney General’s recent announcement that DOJ will seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione raises a host of interesting legal and philosophical issues, and it almost certainly reflects a dramatic about-face from the Biden administration’s approach towards federal prosecutions for death-eligible offenses. Aside from having personally prosecuted three death penalty trials while I was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Maryland and when I was…
Executive’s Internet Searches Give SEC the Road Map to Make an Arrest
August 17, 2012
Executive’s Internet Searches Give SEC the Road Map to Make an Arrest
By: Ifrah Law
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged an executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb with insider trading, citing his Internet searches as support that he tried to cover up his illegal acts. As a high-level executive in the treasury department at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Robert D. Ramnarine helped the company target, evaluate, and acquire other pharmaceutical companies. The SEC’s complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in New…
Judge Clamps Down on DOJ Efforts to Apply U.S. Law Abroad
August 6, 2012
Judge Clamps Down on DOJ Efforts to Apply U.S. Law Abroad
By: Ifrah Law
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent boasts about rigorous enforcement of the securities laws ran into a significant obstacle this month when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., dismissed part of a $50 million securities fraud case and accused DOJ prosecutors of overreaching. In an increasingly global economy, the case is a good measure of the limits on the ability of the United States government…
Department of Justice Enters Historic Agreement with PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker
July 31, 2012
Department of Justice Enters Historic Agreement with PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker
By: Jeff Ifrah
Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and the U.S. Department of Justice announced today that PokerStars will acquire Full Tilt Poker’s assets in a transaction that ends the DOJ’s civil forfeiture case against Full Tilt. Both Full Tilt and PokerStars ran online poker sites in the U.S., and in 2011 the DOJ charged both of them with violating U.S. anti-gambling laws. Jeff Ifrah, founding partner of Ifrah…
After Legislature Acts, Delaware Ready to Become 2nd State to Legalize Online Gaming
June 29, 2012
After Legislature Acts, Delaware Ready to Become 2nd State to Legalize Online Gaming
By: Ifrah Law
Delaware is now poised to become the second state to legalize online gaming. On Wednesday, that state’s Senate passed a bill that would legalize web table games, including poker, video lottery games, and traditional lottery games to be offered online. Democratic Governor Jack Markell supports the bill and is expected to sign it into law soon. Earlier in the month the bill passed the state’s…
Appellate Court Casts Doubt on Acceptability of ‘Obey-the Law’ Injunctions
June 25, 2012
Appellate Court Casts Doubt on Acceptability of ‘Obey-the Law’ Injunctions
By: Jeff Ifrah
We recently blogged about the recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Goble, 2012 WL 1918819 (11th Cir. May 29, 2012). There, we discussed the appeals court’s limitation on the reach of the concept of “securities fraud” under Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b(5). Another aspect of that case is also…
