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AI Conversations Feel Private. Could They Be Privileged?

AI Conversations Feel Private. Could They Be Privileged?

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…

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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…

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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…

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Judge Dismisses Lindsey FCPA Case, Finding Prosecutorial Misconduct

December 12, 2011

Judge Dismisses Lindsey FCPA Case, Finding Prosecutorial Misconduct

By: Ifrah Law

In May 2011, a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted Lindsey Manufacturing Co., its president Keith Lindsey, and CFO Steve Lee, on foreign bribery charges for their dealings with Mexico’s state-owned electricity utility, Comision Federal de Electricidad. The prosecutors claimed that Lindsey Manufacturing retained Enrique Aguilar, a Mexican company representative, after repeatedly failing to win contracts legitimately – and that the defendants knew that the…

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More Big Pharma Companies Cough Up Big Dollars in DOJ Settlements

November 30, 2011

More Big Pharma Companies Cough Up Big Dollars in DOJ Settlements

By: Ifrah Law

The parade of major drug companies coughing up nine-digit or ten-digit dollar amounts in settlements with the U.S. government is continuing. GlaxoSmithKline recently broke a record by agreeing to pay the federal government $3 billion to settle an illegal pharmaceutical marketing case. This surpasses the previous record of $2.3 billion paid by Pfizer in 2009 over the marketing of its Bextra painkiller and other drugs….

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Convicted of Fraud but Changed Their Lives; Appeals Court Takes Note

November 29, 2011

Convicted of Fraud but Changed Their Lives; Appeals Court Takes Note

By: Ifrah Law

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit recently issued a notable decision in the case of United States v. Robertson, vacating and remanding the sentences of two defendants convicted of a mortgage fraud scheme because the sentencing judge failed to consider unusually strong evidence of self-motivated rehabilitation. In the late 1990’s, Henry and Elizabeth Robertson were involved in a mortgage fraud scheme through…

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In Appeal of Construction Fraud Case, DOJ Seeks Tougher Sentences

November 17, 2011

In Appeal of Construction Fraud Case, DOJ Seeks Tougher Sentences

By: Ifrah Law

In a very rare case in which the government argued that it viewed criminal sentences as too lenient, the U.S. Department of Justice contended in an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit on Nov. 7, 2011, that the sentences handed out to two government contractors convicted of fraud did not accurately reflect the seriousness of their crimes. Robert Prosperi, the…

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Options for Suing the Federal Government Under Bivens Unlikely to Expand

November 7, 2011

Options for Suing the Federal Government Under Bivens Unlikely to Expand

By: Ifrah Law

In 2001, federal inmate Richard Lee Pollard sustained two broken elbows after tripping over a cart in a privately operated prison housing federal inmates. He sued five prison employees for their actions after his injuries. On Nov. 1, 2011, the Supreme Court held oral argument in Minneci v. Pollard and considered the possibility of creating a new federal remedy against private employees who work for…

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Articles and Presentations by Our Firm Attorneys

AI Conversations Feel Private. Could They Be Privileged?

AI Conversations Feel Private. Could They Be Privileged?
By: Robert Ward

It is Time for a “Second Look” at Legislative Efforts to Combat Mass Incarceration & Recidivism

It is Time for a “Second Look” at Legislative Efforts to Combat Mass Incarceration & Recidivism
By: Sara Dalsheim

A Luigi Mangione Death Penalty Trial

A Luigi Mangione Death Penalty Trial
By: James Trusty

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