According
to
a
new
report
from
the
Association
of
Corporate
Counsel
(ACC),
the
number
of
in-house
counsel
in
the
United
States
has
been
consistently
growing
at
a
far
higher
rate
than
the
number
of
lawyers
working
in
either
private
practice
or
government.
The
report,
which
analyzed
data
from
the
U.S.
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics’
annual
Occupational
Employment
and
Wage
Statistics
report,
finds
that
the
in-house
counsel
population
rose
by
almost
90%
between
2008
and
2024,
from
78,000
to
145,000.
By
contrast,
the
law
firm
attorney
population
grew
just
23%
while
the
number
of
government
attorneys
increased
38%
over
the
same
period.
The
report
also
examines
the
geographical
distribution
of
the
in-house
counsel
population,
noting
substantial
increases
in
established
legal
hubs
like
New
York
as
well
as
dramatic
growth
in
smaller
markets,
such
as
Wyoming
and
Vermont.
In
response
to
the
news
that
the
Trump
administration
has
hiked
the
price
of
new
H-1B
visas
from
$2,000
–
$5,000
to
a
whopping
$100,000.
MedCity
News
Editor
in
Chief
Arundhati
Parmar
talked
about
the
merits
and
challenges
of
the
program
in
general
and
specifically
for
healthcare
with
Debunked
Podcast
co-host
Samir
Batra,
managing
partner
of
Health
Innovation
Pitch.
“There
are
some
legit
concerns
that
employers
have
abused
this
system,
especially
with
India,
my
country
of
birth,
and
have
benefited
tremendously,”
Arundhati
said.
“I
agree
with
the
criticism
that
this
program
has
been
abused.
…
On
the
flip
side,
we
don’t
have
enough
people
with
math
and
science
skills.”
Initially
the
details
of
the
visa
program
changes
were
hazy,
causing
mass
confusion
as
companies
urged
employees
to
cut
short
their
travel
plans
and
return
to
the
U.S.
Technology
companies
have
used
the
H-1B
visa
to
address
a
shortage
of
computer
science
engineers
within
the
U.S.
Although
the
healthcare
industry
has
relied
on
the
program
for
decades
to
bolster
nurse
and
physician
staffing,
bringing
professionals
from
Philippines
and
India,
the
numbers
of
H-1B
visas
issued
in
healthcare
and
medicine
represent
a
small
fraction
of
the
141,205
total
new
H-1B
visas
issued
in
fiscal
year
2024,
according
to
data
from
the
American
Immigration
Council.
Another
topic
raised
in
the
latest
edition
of
Debunked
was
Bitcoin
treasury
company
Strive’s
acquisition
of
device
company
Semlar
Scientific.
Semlar
developed
a
test
for
peripheral
artery
disease
and
other
chronic
conditions.
The
combined
company
holds
10,900
BTC,
making
it
the
12th
largest
public
bitcoin
holder,
according
to
Cointelegraph.
Samir
shared
insights
on
the
implications
for
future
M&A
deals
and
the
role
bitcoin
could
play
in
these
transactions.
He
also
shared
concerns
that
bitcoin
risked
inflating
a
company’s
value
based
on
their
digital
assets.
Misinformation
around
one
cause
of
autism,
disseminated
by
the
Trump
administration,
was
widely
criticized
last
month.
President
Donald
Trump
and
HHS
Secretary
Robert
Kennedy
Jr.
named
the
active
ingredient
in
Tylenol,
acetaminophen,
as
a
cause
of
autism
and
urged
pregnant
women
not
to
take
the
medication,
despite
the
lack
of
conclusive
evidence
for
the
claims.
Physicians
often
recommend
pregnant
women
take
Tylenol
for
pain
or
a
high
fever
as
a
safer
alternative
to
aspirin.
Centers
for
Medicare
and
Medicaid
Services
Administrator
Dr.
Mehmet
Oz
contradicted
his
boss
and
downplayed
concerns
around
the
drug.
To
listen
to
the
full
podcast,
check
out
the
video
here:
To
understand
what
your
law
firm
website
needs
to
change
to
remain
relevant
and
visible
in
2026,
it
helps
to
have
a
firm
grasp
of
how
AI
search
tools
differ
from
traditional
search
engines.
Some
of
these
differences
may
be
apparent
to
you
from
your
own
experience,
but
what
goes
on
behind
the
scenes
has
important
implications
for
your
law
firm’s
content
and
its
technical
search
engine
optimization
(SEO).
Making
adaptations
early
and
being
prepared
to
make
adjustments
puts
you
in
a
position
to
build
a
generative
engine
optimization
(GEO)
strategy
that
keeps
pace
with
users’
search
behavior.
Preparing
for
Differentiation
For
many
years,
the
web
search
landscape
was
dominated
by
one
major
search
engine:
Google.
Other
search
tools,
like
Bing
and
DuckDuckGo,
did
exist,
but
they
accounted
for
a
relatively
small
share
of
global
search
activity.
The
result
for
businesses
like
law
firms,
aiming
to
optimize
their
pages
for
relevant
searches,
was
that
SEO
“best
practices”
consisted
of
a
mostly
standard
set
of
recommendations.
These
could
be
applied
to
a
wide
range
of
websites
and
were
expected
to
improve
search
engine
results
page
(SERP)
rankings
in
most
situations.
AI
search
tools
are
more
diverse
in
their
collection
and
presentation
of
content.
If
you
are
optimizing
your
law
firm
website
to
appear
in
the
results
from
AI-assisted
searches
in
2026,
you
will
need
to
take
more
than
one
set
of
protocols
into
consideration.
Most
large
language
model
(LLM)
search
tools
are
going
to
use
many
of
the
same
factors
in
evaluating
websites.
This
is
because
they
operate
on
generally
similar
principles
built
on
the
same
basic
search
functions
that
led
to
SEO’s
development.
However,
the
way
different
AI
programs
prioritize
individual
factors
may
vary.
Instead
of
considering
a
single
set
of
optimizations,
websites
will
increasingly
need
to
account
for
cross-platform
differences.
Expand
Your
Content
Strategy
To
Integrate
Timely
Updates
For
years,
the
standard
SEO
content
strategy
advice
was
to
focus
on
creating
evergreen
content.
For
traditional
search,
this
is
still
great
advice.
Creating
content
that
will
still
be
relevant
in
months
or
even
years
means
that
you
increase
your
overall
digital
footprint,
and
therefore
your
online
visibility,
every
time
you
add
a
new
post.
Many
of
the
benefits
of
SEO
are
cumulative.
Maintaining
a
growing
blog
of
evergreen
content
allows
the
positive
effects
of
SEO
content
marketing
to
build
over
time
while
ensuring
that
the
pages
attracting
traffic
contain
information
you
are
still
comfortable
sharing.
Evergreen
content
has
also
historically
been
cost
effective.
A
law
firm
can
pay
for
a
blog
article
once
and
know
that
the
investment
will
keep
drawing
in
prospective
clients
long
after
its
publication.
What’s
Changed?
All
these
advantages
still
apply
to
traditional
SEO,
but
some
AI
search
models,
including
Google’s
own
AI
overviews,
now
summarize
the
latest
developments
and
point
toward
commentary
on
trending
topics.
AI
search
tools
are
also
getting
more
sophisticated
at
recognizing
and
tailoring
results
to
individual
users’
locations
and
interests.
What
To
Do?
To
maximize
your
law
firm’s
visibility
in
AI-driven
search
results,
add
insights
relevant
to
your
practice
area
whenever
a
trending
news
item
intersects
with
the
kinds
of
cases
your
firm
handles.
What
that
may
look
like
is
going
to
be
different
for
every
law
firm.
For
example,
you
could
explain
the
likely
impacts
of
newly
passed
legislation
or
clarify
important
legal
concepts
that
have
become
the
subject
of
trending
searches
because
they
apply
to
a
case
in
the
news.
Think
Local
Do
not
shortchange
your
local
news
outlets
here.
Consider
timely
and
relevant
content
based
on
events
reported
in
your
own
community,
where
the
people
most
likely
to
retain
your
firm’s
services
are
located.
If
you
have
an
established
relationship
with
a
digital
marketing
agency,
you
can
often
save
time
while
maintaining
your
firm’s
relevance
by
negotiating
a
standing
arrangement
for
time-sensitive
content
writing.
To
get
the
most
out
of
this
strategy,
give
the
agency
the
news
item
and
point
them
toward
existing
pages
on
your
website
that
establish
your
firm’s
voice
on
related
legal
issues.
This
helps
ensure
both
topical
relevance
and
tonal
consistency.
Harness
AI
for
Predictive
Client
Acquisition
Beyond
content
for
search
engines,
AI
offers
powerful
tools
for
proactive
marketing.
Law
firms
can
now
use
predictive
analytics
to
identify
potential
clients
before
they
even
begin
their
search
for
legal
representation.
By
analyzing
public
data
sets,
social
media
trends,
and
economic
indicators,
AI
models
can
forecast
which
demographics
or
industries
are
likely
to
face
specific
legal
challenges.
For
instance,
a
firm
specializing
in
bankruptcy
law
could
use
AI
to
monitor
local
business
filings
and
economic
distress
signals,
allowing
them
to
create
targeted
outreach
campaigns
for
companies
at
risk
of
insolvency.
This
forward-thinking
approach
shifts
marketing
from
a
reactive
to
a
proactive
strategy,
placing
your
firm
one
step
ahead
of
the
competition.
Create
Hyper-Personalized
Client
Engagement
with
AI
AI
can
also
revolutionize
how
you
engage
with
prospective
and
current
clients
on
your
website.
Instead
of
offering
a
one-size-fits-all
user
experience,
you
can
implement
AI-driven
chatbots
and
dynamic
content
modules
that
personalize
the
journey
for
each
visitor.
Imagine
a
user
lands
on
your
site
and
an
AI-powered
chat
assistant
not
only
answers
their
initial
questions
but
also
analyzes
their
language
to
gauge
their
specific
legal
needs
and
emotional
state.
Based
on
this
interaction,
the
website
can
automatically
feature
relevant
blog
posts,
case
studies,
or
attorney
profiles
that
speak
directly
to
that
visitor’s
situation.
This
level
of
personalization
builds
trust
and
demonstrates
a
deep
understanding
of
the
client’s
needs
from
the
very
first
click.
Update
Accessibility
for
Humans
and
Machines
The
algorithms
that
drive
AI
search
results
are
expected
to
prioritize
page
content
that
meets
site
accessibility
standards.
As
AI
tools
provide
more
options
for
user
customization,
we
may
see
users
select
options
that
filter
sources
to
privilege
those
that
meet
their
needs.
If
you
are
not
personally
familiar
with
accessibility
settings,
consider
looking
for
an
SEO
specialist
or
digital
marketing
agency
with
strong
credentials
in
this
area.
Many
techniques
that
make
your
website
more
accessible
to
human
visitors
also
facilitate
crawling
and
indexing
by
machines.
Expect
LLMs
to
“double
down”
on
the
existing
preference
for
structured
data
and
descriptive
page
titles.
A
few
accessibility
features
that
may
have
an
increased
impact
on
how
consistently
your
law
firm
shows
up
in
answer
engines
as
we
head
into
2026
include:
Readable
Text
Making
your
law
firm
website
accessible
to
the
visually
impaired
usually
means
limiting
the
number
and
complexity
of
the
fonts
used.
You
also
need
to
ensure
that
the
hexadecimal
codes
for
the
page
text
and
background
have
a
high
degree
of
contrast.
Over-reliance
on
special
formatting,
such
as
bolded
text
and
italics,
may
be
a
mark
against
you,
since
these
signals
of
emphasis
are
difficult
to
reproduce
via
screen
readers.
Clear
Organization
Making
sure
that
all
headings
are
carefully
and
logically
encoded
as
<h1>,
<h2>,
and
so
on
has
been
a
mainstay
of
conventional
SEO
for
years.
It
gains
new
force
with
visual
accessibility
expectations,
as
many
screen
readers
rely
on
these
markers
to
organize
page
text.
For
similar
reasons,
you
will
want
to
check
the
alt
text
used
with
any
site
images.
Add
alt
text
if
it
is
missing,
and
update
it
to
make
sure
that
it
both
describes
the
image
and
explains
its
connection
to
the
text.
Integrate
Multimodal
Content
Content
is
still
king,
but
law
firms
have
more
options
for
how
to
build
their
content
portfolios
now
than
ever
before.
Many
LLM
search
tools
have
a
much
stronger
ability
to
“read”
and
deliver
results
from
non-text
content,
such
as
graphics
or
videos,
than
conventional
search
engines.
You
can
maximize
the
benefits
of
text-based
keyword
integration
with
the
advantages
of
multimodality
by
ensuring
that
all
your
non-text
content
is
accompanied
by
clear
captions
and
transcripts.
This
makes
it
easy
for
LLMs
to
index
your
content
and
reference
it
in
the
answers
they
provide
to
users.
Invest
in
Regular
Updates
One
of
the
most
important
changes
you
can
make
to
your
law
firm
website
strategy
is
to
plan
for
regular
updates.
Many
law
firms
maintain
static
websites
where
little
changes
beyond
their
blog
posts
for
months
or
even
years.
That
strategy
is
outdated.
It
makes
integrating
timely
content
more
difficult,
and
it
hinders
your
ability
to
make
technical
adjustments
in
response
to
new
LLM
models.
Waiting
until
your
website
is
already
out
of
date
to
find
a
web
designer
can
put
you
weeks,
if
not
months,
behind
your
competitors.
Deciding
ahead
of
time
how
you
will
handle
website
updates
and
planning
for
regular
review
gives
you
an
edge.
Final
Thoughts:
Partnering
with
a
Legal
Marketing
Agency
If
you
choose
to
partner
with
a
legal
marketing
agency,
make
sure
they
truly
understand
AI
technologies
and
are
up
to
date
on
how
to
get
your
law
firm
website
listed
on
large
language
models
(LLMs).
The
agency
should
be
prepared
to
implement
strategies
tailored
for
AI-driven
search,
ensuring
your
website
is
not
only
optimized
for
traditional
search
engines
but
also
positioned
to
appear
in
the
latest
AI-based
platforms.
This
expertise
is
vital
to
maintaining
and
growing
your
firm’s
online
visibility
as
digital
landscapes
evolve.
Annette
Choti,
Esq.
is
the
founder
of Law
Quill,
a
legal
digital
marketing
agency
that
helps
growth-minded
law
firms
increase
their
online
visibility
and
convert
more
clients.
She
is
also
the
author
of
“Click
Magnet:
The
Ultimate
Digital
Marketing
Guide
for
Law
Firms”
and
Click
Magnet
Academy.
Annette
used
to
do
professional
comedy,
which
is
not
so
far
from
the
law
if
we
are
all
being
honest.
Badges
lies
on
the
edge
of
the
table
for
the
participants
and
convention
center
reception.
Business
conference
access
cards.
The
Filevine
User
Conference
took
place
September
29th
through
October
2nd
in
Salt
Lake
City.
I
was
interested
in
the
conference
in
part
because
Filevine
recently
got
a
$400
million
infusion
and
I
wanted
to
see
what
the
atmosphere
was
as
compared
to
last
year’s
conference,
also
in
Salt
Lake.
Last
year,
Filevine
more
or
less
threw
down
the
gauntlet
on
extravagant
vendor
conferences.
It
featured
a
keynote
with
the
actor
Jake
Gyllenhaal
and
a
concert
by
well-known
rap
artist,
Nelly.
There
was
a
lot
of
excitement
and
major
announcements.
Like
last
year,
this
year’s
conference
featured
a
well-known
actor,
Bob
Odenkirk
(Better
Call
Saul),
and
a
concert
apparently
by
a
well-known
country
music
group,
the
Turnpike
Troubadours.
(I’m
not
a
country
fan
so
it
was
a
little
lost
on
me.)
The
energy
and
passion
seemed
the
same,
as
exemplified
by
its
CEO
Ryan
Anderson.
I
enjoy
talking
to
the
Filevine
folks
and,
like
last
year,
found
them
interesting
and
knowledgeable.
And
perhaps
in
keeping
with
a
company
just
getting
a
$400
million
infusion,
Filevine
gave
every
attendee
$200
in
coupons
to
spend
in
the
Filevine
Pro
Shop
(more
on
that
later).
Key
Take
Aways
After
being
there
for
the
three
days,
three
trends
are
obvious.
First,
like
some
other
vendors,
Filevine
sees
the
value
in
providing
one
singular
AI
and
tech
source
for
all
its
customers.
It
is
expanding
what
its
various
AI
tools
can
do
so
that
customers
stay
in
the
Filevine
campground
for
as
many
tasks
as
possible.
All
well
and
good
but
if
you
follow
Cory
Doctorow’s
enshitification
theme
(where
a
company
offers
a
great
product
at
a
great
price
but
as
it
grows
it
offers
less
service
at
a
higher
price),
it
ties
up
customers
and
makes
it
difficult
for
them
to
switch
if
Filevine
decides
in
the
future
to
raise
the
fees
and
provide
less
service.
It’s
good
for
customers
in
the
short
run.
How
good
in
the
long
run
remains
to
be
seen.
Secondly,
many
of
Filevine’s
tools
reduce
the
amount
of
time
needed
by
lawyers
and
legal
professionals
to
spend
doing
case
and
matter
activities.
As
I
have
discussed
before,
this
means,
for
example,
that
plaintiffs’
lawyers
who
take
cases
on
a
contingency
basis
may
be
able
to
profitably
handle
cases
that
they
previously
could
not.
These
are
cases
with
lower
exposure.
Without
AI
and
automation
tools,
the
amount
of
time
needed
to
handle
the
case
would
exceed
what
could
likely
be
recovered.
Not
coincidentally,
many
of
Filevine’s
customers
are
personal
injury
lawyers.
Finally,
like
some
other
providers,
Filevine
looks
hard
at
the
practice
pain
points
and
sees
the
value
in
providing
AI
tools
that
work
and
address
those
points.
The
Opening
Keynote
Like
last
year,
the
opening
Keynote
was
given
by
the
CEO
and
founder,
Ryan
Anderson.
He’s
one
of
those
tech
entrepreneurs
who
bounds
on
the
stage
full
of
energy
and
passion,
lots
of
fast
talking
(meaning
he
talked
fast,
not
necessarily
that
he
was
full
of
BS,
although
I’m
sure
there
was
some
of
that).
His
Keynote
sets
the
stage
for
what’s
to
come.
Interestingly,
Anderson
opened
his
Keynote
by
talking
about
the
possibility
of
tech
companies
becoming
competitors
of
law
firms
instead
of
suppliers
of
products
to
them.
I
say
interesting
because
recently
I
posed
the
same
question
in
connection
with
the
purchase
by
the
tech
company
Lawhive
of
a
UK
law
firm.
As
might
be
expected,
Anderson
offered
a
stirring
defense
of
law
firms
and
expressed
the
idea
that
there
are
things
human
lawyers
can
and
always
will
do
better.
Like
persuasion,
empathy,
and
legal
strategy.
I
say
expected
since
Filevine
is
a
big
seller
of
tech
to
law
firms
(at
least
for
now).
Anderson’s
big
news
in
terms
of
products
was
the
notion
of
a
concept
he
called
LOIS
(Legal
Operating
Intelligence
Solution).
The
idea
is
that
LOIS
will
be
the
hub
to
unify
all
Filevine’s
AI
tools
and
case
management
software.
Anderson
said
the
platform
will
be
a
connected
environment
for
these
tools
to
work
together
in
an
orchestrated
fashion.
After
the
Keynote,
I
talked
with
Keegan
Chapman,
Filevine’s
Chief
Marketing
Officer,
about
LOIS.
I
got
the
sense
that
LOIS
is
more
of
a
concept
and
way
of
thinking
than
an
actual
product.
I
also
got
the
idea
that
it’s
a
way
to
refer
to
the
slew
of
different
products
Filevine
offers
in
a
unified
way.
Says
Chapman,
“All
these
products
scattered
throughout
Filevine
felt
very
disjointed.
We
realized
that
the
true
power
is
not
when
you
have
one
but
when
you
have
AI
in
each
step
of
your
process.
And
that’s
what
we
started
naming
LOIS
for.”
Good
idea.
I
have
written
before
about
the
confusion
that
arises
when
a
legal
tech
vendor
offers
a
bunch
of
products
with
different
names
that
do
slightly
different
things.
Beyond
LOIS,
there
were
lots
of
user
sessions,
often
devoted
to
use
by
plaintiffs’
and
smaller
law
firms
who
seem
to
constitute
the
bulk
of
Filevine’s
customer
base
and
the
actual
use
of
the
various
tools.
New
Products
and
Enhancements
At
the
conclusion
of
the
first
full
day,
Filevine’s
Chief
Product
Officer,
Michael
Anderson,
along
with
several
others
took
the
stage
to
discuss
Filevine’s
new
products
and
enhancements.
As
with
most
vendors
these
days,
most
of
these
aren’t
released
yet
and
will
be
in
beta
starting
later
this
year.
The
two
important
were
the
enhancements
to
the
deposition
tool
and
the
entry
of
Filevine
in
the
legal
research
field
which
I
previously
addressed.
Here
are
some
of
the
other
announcements.
1.
Filevine’s
major
flagship
AI
tool, Chat
with
Your
Case,
now
looks
more
like
a
full
AI-powered
case
analysis
and
drafting
assistant.
Key
enhancements
include:
The
sidebar
chat
has
been
redesigned
with
a full-screen
mode
and
a history
map.
The
exact
words
and
pages
the
AI
relies
on
are
displayed.
A
new AI
classifier now
routes
queries
to
the
correct
agent,
distinguishing
between
fact-finding,
procedural,
and
generative
tasks.
Key
upcoming
features
will
add
the
ability
to
automatically
produce
slide
decks
or
PDFs
summarizing
case
strengths
and
weaknesses
and
the
ability
for
users
to
be
able
to
choose
which
datasets
the
AI
draws
from.
2.
Draft
AI is
a
new
embedded
drafting
assistant
integrated
into
Filevine’s document
assembly
system.
Features
include:
A
hybrid
drafting
enginethat
combines
traditional
templates
with
generative
AI
for
unique
sections
like
recitals
and
factual
backgrounds.
Direct
Filevine
data
access
that
draws
directly
from
the
case
file
leading
to
accuracy
and
formatting
consistency.
The
ability
to
chat
with
the
document
itself
to
edit,
query,
or
insert
sections.
3.
Filevine’s Timely product,
an
AI-driven
deadline
calculation
tool,
has
been
completely
rebuilt
using
AI.
The
enhancements
include:
Coverage
of
cases
in
all
50
state
and
federal
jurisdictions.
An
AI-enhanced
local
rule
detection
feature.
Synced
deadlines
that
appear
automatically
in
Filevine
projects,
Outlook,
and
Google
calendars.
4. Filevine’s
Medical
Chronology
tool
is
a
medical
record
summarization
system
that
now
automatically
updates
as
new
medical
records
are
uploaded.
It
can
also
now
be
narrowed
for
specific
types
of
records.
In
the
future,
the
tool
will
include
automatic
deduplication,
and
the
ability
to
combine
medical
records
and
bills
into
a
unified
view,
cross-comparison
of
bills
and
records
to
find
missing
documents,
and
the
ability
for
the
user
to
approve
or
exclude
documents
before
inclusion.
The
Proverbial
Vibe
In
addition
to
content
and
announcements,
every
conference
should
be
assessed
on
its
vibe,
energy,
and
feel.
On
this
point,
I
give
Filevine
a
B+
for
the
reasons
below.
Lots
of
excitement
and
passion.
Lots
of
talk
about
AI
and
what
I
could
do.
The
Filevine
people
went
out
of
their
way
to
be
helpful
and
courteous.
The
sessions
were
good
and
informative.
The
keynotes
were
solid.
The
exhibit
hall
was
energized.
But…
Despite
all
this,
on
some
things
Filevine
was,
well,
a
little
tone
deaf.
Take
LOIS.
Conceptually
sounds
like
a
good
idea.
But
why
introduce
it
with
a
video
showing
two
attractive
women
who
presumably
gave
a
look
and
voice
to
LOIS.
And
for
that
matter,
why
name
it
for
a
woman
at
all?
Whether
intentional
or
not,
the
choice
to
anthropomorphize
an
AI
assistant
as
female
and
have
it
represented
by
attractive
women
in
promotional
materials
reinforces
old
stereotypes
about
whose
work
matters
less.
Minor
point?
Maybe.
And
by
itself
it
might
not
have
been
noticeable.
But
a
couple
of
other
things
suggested
a
bro
atmosphere.
Throughout
the
venue
there
were
all
sorts
of
references
to
sports,
primarily
golf.
Pictures
of
well-known
male
golfers.
Trophies
displayed
to
suggest
a
country
club
atmosphere.
References
to
club
membership.
Even
the
swag
was
offered
in
a
“Pro
Shop.”
Most
of
it
had
“Member”
displayed
on
it.
Yes,
women
play
golf;
but
I
didn’t
see
any
pictures
of
women
golfers
anyplace.
Nothing
wrong
with
golf
references
per
se,
but
when
the
entire
aesthetic
skews
heavily
toward
one
demographic’s
leisure
activities,
it
sends
a
message
about
who
the
“default”
customer
is
imagined
to
be.
Then
there
was
the
opening
night
party.
The
theme
was
Kentucky
Derby,
replete
with
mint
juleps,
cigar
rolling,
and
simulated
betting.
Now
I’m
happy
my
state’s
biggest
event
got
some
notice,
but
it
seemed
jarring
to
have
a
Derby
party
in
late
September
in
Salt
Lake
City.
Beyond
the
odd
timing,
it
could
be
seen
as
doubling
down
on
the
exclusive
country
and
boys
club
image.
Putting
all
this
together,
it
gave
an
impression
that
could
be
off
putting
and
detract,
rather
than
enhance,
the
goal
of
the
conference:
show
off
products
while
letting
everyone
have
fun
and
feel
comfortable.
In
a
male-dominated
industry
known
for
the
opposite
kind
of
atmosphere,
it
was
a
distraction.
But
At
Least
No
Woman
in
a
Champagne
Glass
But
that
shouldn’t
take
anything
away
from
the
fact
that
overall,
the
conference
was
really
good.
And
unlike
another
well-known
legal
tech
conference
this
year,
at
least
there
was
no
scantily
clad
woman
in
a
large
champagne
glass
at
the
main
party.
Stephen
Embry
is
a
lawyer,
speaker,
blogger,
and
writer.
He
publishes TechLaw
Crossroads,
a
blog
devoted
to
the
examination
of
the
tension
between
technology,
the
law,
and
the
practice
of
law.
Sometimes
millions
of
people
buying
a
picture
of
a
naked
baby
is
just
art.
Called
“one
of
the
most
iconic
album
covers
ever”
by
Indie
Underground,
Nirvana’s
second
second
album,
“Nevermind,”
isn’t
actually
all
that
complex.
There’s
a
body
of
water
and
what
looks
like
a
naked
baby
swimming
toward
a
dollar
on
a
fish
hook.
To
many,
the
album
looks
like
a
reminder
of
their
youth
and
when
grunge
killed
glam
metal.
To
Spencer
Elden
—
the
baby
photographed
for
the
album
—
the
album
looked
like
child
pornography.
He
filed
suit
back
in
2021
over
the
photo.
Years
later,
it
looks
like
there
is
some
finality
to
the
question
of
whether
the
album
cover
counts
as
child
porn
or
not.
ABA
Journal
has
coverage:
U.S.
District
Judge
Fernando
Olguin
of
the
Central
District
of
California
ruled
against
Spencer
Elden
and
tossed
the
2021
that
case
he
filed
over
the
picture
taken
when
he
was
4
months
old,
report
the
New
York
Times,
Law360
and
Reuters. … Olguin
disagreed
after
examining
several
factors.
They
included
whether
the
focal
point
of
the
depiction
is
on
the
child’s
genitalia,
whether
the
setting
is
sexually
suggestive,
whether
the
child
is
nude,
and
whether
the
depiction
is
intended
to
elicit
a
sexual
response
in
the
viewer.
Of
the
listed
factors,
the
judge
said
that
the
only
one
relevant
to
the
photo
was
that
the
child
was
nude.
I
do
wonder
about
the
focal
point
prong
though
—
would
the
cover
have
been
as
iconic
if
the
baby
was
wearing
a
diaper?
Either
way,
we
finally
have
some
closure
on
the
question.
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
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
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.
Police
just
added
a
new
weapon
to
their
arsenal:
incredibly
stupid
people
being
way
too
comfortable
confessing
their
secrets
to
the
robot
in
their
pocket.
When
tech
bro
evangelists
sell
the
world
on
the
productivity
accelerating
power
of
the
technological
terrors
they’ve
constructed
—
despite
their
sad
devotion
to
the
large-language
hype
train
not
helping
them
conjure
up
measurable
productivity
gains
—
they
hype
cancer
cures
and
a
future
without
junior
associates.
Instead,
they’ve
built
a
Robo-Diary
for
dumb
criminals
to
write,
“will
I
go
to
jail
for
smashing
up
these
cars?”
It’s
a
slightly
slicker
Magic
8-Ball
and
all
it
cost
is
a
267%
increase
in
electricity
prices.
According
to
OzarksFirst,
authorities
have
charged
a
teenager
with
vandalizing
17
cars
in
the
Missouri
State
University
parking
lot.
But
Ocean’s
Eleven,
this
was
not,
as
the
kid
decided
to
spend
the
evening
chatting
away
with
ChatGPT
about
the
vandalism,
essentially
drafting
his
own
confession
in
the
style
of
a
late-night
therapy
session
with
HAL
9000.
This
proved
a
sub-optimal
strategy,
as
Miranda
does
not
provide
the
right
to
ask
a
stochastic
parrot
if
smashing
a
Camry
is
a
felony
The
SPD
also
later
reviewed
data
from
Schaefer’s
phone,
which
placed
the
phone
near
the
parking
lot
at
2:49
a.m.
on
the
night
of
the
vandalism
and
later
near
his
apartment
at
4:04
a.m.,
the
statement
says.
Additionally,
the
statement
also
details
a
ChatGPT
conversation
recovered
from
Schaefer’s
phone.
The
ChatGPT
exchange
began
around
3:47
a.m.
on
Aug.
28,
about
10
minutes
after
the
vandalism
allegedly
ended.
In
the
chat,
the
user
—
identified
by
the
SPD
as
Schaefer
—
described
damaging
vehicles
and
asked
if
he
could
go
to
jail.
The
statement
includes
multiple
excerpts
in
which
the
user
admitted
to
“smash(ing)”
cars,
referenced
MSU’s
parking
lot
and
made
violent
statements.
The
statement
says
ChatGPT
urged
the
user
to
“seek
help.”
The
messages
stopped
later
that
morning.
Astounding.
Remember
when
people
used
to
warn
teenagers
that
anything
they
put
on
Facebook
would
follow
them
forever?
Did
we
just
lose
all
that
energy
when
Facebook
changed
to
Meta
and
tried
to
build
bargain
bin
Second
Life?
But
instead
of
drunk
dorm
photos,
it’s
“Dear
ChatGPT,
today
at
approximately
3:32
a.m.,
I
killed
Mr.
Boddy
in
the
Conservatory
with
the
Lead
Pipe,
please
format
this
for
an
eventual
affidavit.”
Much
like
the
rise
of
case
cite
hallucinations,
the
problem
here
isn’t
technological,
it’s
psychological.
It’s
not
ChatGPT’s
fault,
unless
you
assign
highly
indirect
blame
for
the
product
seducing
people
to
indulge
their
existing
bad
impulses.
ChatGPT
doesn’t
fill
the
filed
brief
with
fake
cases,
a
human
lawyer
did
that
because
they
thought
they
could
get
away
with
not
following
up
on
the
research
spit
out
by
glorified
autocomplete.
By
the
same
price
per
token,
it’s
not
ChatGPT’s
fault
that
a
vandal
would
think
their
phone
can
replace
a
lawyer
(or
a
priest).
Sam
Altman
already
pointed
out
the
technology
lacks
any
form
of
privilege.
“If
you
talk
to
a
therapist
or
a
lawyer
or
a
doctor
about
those
problems,
there’s
legal
privilege
for
it,”
Altman
said
back
in
July.
“There’s
doctor-patient
confidentiality, there’s
legal
confidentiality,
whatever.
And
we
haven’t
figured
that
out
yet
for
when
you
talk
to
ChatGPT.
I
think
that’s
very
screwed
up.
I
think
we
should
have
the
same
concept
of
privacy
for
your
conversations
with
AI
that
we
do
with
a
therapist
or
whatever.”
Counter:
No,
we
absolutely
should
not.
Lawyers
and
therapists
and
priests
trigger
privileges
because
they
are
human
professionals
and,
as
a
society,
we
see
a
value
in
encouraging
people
to
be
candid
with
them.
By
contrast,
we
need
people
to
be
a
whole
lot
less
candid
with
their
AI
bots.
The
family
of
a
child
who
died
by
suicide
is
already
suing
OpenAI
alleging
that
the
bot
crowded
out
support
networks
and
discouraged
seeking
professional
help.
We
need
to
do
everything
possible
to
dissuade
people
from
thinking
AI
can
replace
trained
professionals.
The
AI
people
want
users
to
believe
their
conversations
are
privileged
because
the
industry
runs
on
surveillance
capitalism.
Every
keystroke
is
data,
and
data
is
product.
They
want
you
to
tell
them
that
you
robbed
a
bank
so
they
can
target
ads
for
bus
tickets
to
Zihuatanejo.
Or
at
least
use
it
to
train
a
future
Agentic
AI
to
respond
to
“I
plan
to
commit
a
robbery”
by
generating
a
workflow,
tracing
out
all
the
steps,
performing
several
research
projects
and
then…
telling
the
user
about
“10
famous
people
named
Rob,”
which
would
actually
be
remarkably
accurate
for
an
Agentic
AI
based
on
multiple
studies.
In
any
event,
we
shouldn’t
let
these
companies
dupe
more
people
into
thinking
it
replaces
professionals.
It
streamlines
some
key
workplace
tasks.
It’s
actually
very
good
at
streamlining
those
tasks.
But
it’s
not
a
replacement
for
human
judgment
and
we
should
hold
the
line
at
giving
anyone
any
more
reason
to
think
that
it
can.
Lawyers
and
law
firm
staff
members
continue
to
be
among
the
top
political
campaign
donors,
but
which
party
is
taking
home
the
most
cash
from
Biglaw
firms?
According
to
new
research
from
Professor Derek
Muller
of
the
University
of
Notre
Dame
Law
School,
those
who
work
at
large
law
firms
leaned
even
further
to
the
left
than
they
had
in
the
past.
That
leads
us
to
our
next
question:
Which
Biglaw
firms
had
the
highest
percentage
of
contributions
to
Democratic
campaigns?
Before
we
get
to
that
ranking,
Muller
supplies
the
all-in
totals
at
his
blog,
Excess
of
Democracy:
All
told,
I
captured
about
$52
million
in
contributions
to
Democratic-affiliated
groups
compared
to
about
$4
million
for
Republican-affiliated
groups
in
2023-2024.
92.45%
of
contributions
went
to
Democrats,
about
a
12-to-1
ratio,
up
from
the
6-to-1
ratio
back
in
2020.
As
Muller
told
Bloomberg
Law,
“This
represents
a
pretty
significant
shift
to
the
left.”
Now,
without
further
ado,
these
are
the
top
10
Biglaw
firms
that
had
the
highest
percentage
of
contributions
to
Democratic
campaigns:
Given
the
way
that
the
legal
profession
and
the
rule
of
law
have
been
threatened
under
the
Trump
II
reign,
will
lawyers
and
law
firm
staff
be
able
to
push
their
Democratic
loyalties
to
the
max?
“It
would
be
hard
to
get
farther
to
the
left,”
Mueller
said.
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
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 Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.
Ed.
Note:
A
weekly
roundup
of
just
a
few
items
from
Howard
Bashman’s
How
Appealing
blog,
the
Web’s
first
blog
devoted
to
appellate
litigation.
Check
out
these
stories
and
more
at
How
Appealing.
“Senate
advances
Third
Circuit
nominee
Mascott
amid
Democratic
objections;
Delaware
Senator
Chris
Coons
has
long
complained
that
Jennifer
Mascott
lacks
a
sufficient
connection
to
his
home
state,
where
the
Trump
administration
official
would
likely
consider
some
cases
as
an
appellate
judge”: Benjamin
S.
Weiss
of
Courthouse
News
Service
has this
report.
“The
Story
of
This
Supreme
Court
Term
Is
Already
On
YouTube;
Using
soft-lit
infomercial-style
videos,
conservative
activists
are
building
a
shared
cultural
understanding
about
who
deserves
the
law’s
protections,
and
who
does
not”: Jay
Willis
has this
essay online
at
Balls
and
Strikes.
“Judge
Dismisses
Lawsuit
Over
Naked
Baby
on
Nirvana’s
‘Nevermind’;
The
man
pictured
as
a
naked
baby
on
the
cover
of
Nirvana’s
seminal
second
album
argued
that
the
band
had
engaged
in
child
sex
abuse
imagery”: Derrick
Bryson
Taylor
of
The
New
York
Times
has this
report.
“Supreme
Court’s
Cook
Decision
Gives
Fed
Breathing
Room,
For
Now”: Enda
Curran,
Catarina
Saraiva,
and
Amara
Omeokwe
of
Bloomberg
News
have this
report.
“Judges’
Mental
Well-Being
Gets
New
Attention
as
Threats
Rise”: Suzanne
Monyak
of
Bloomberg
Law
has this
report.
“Frozen
feud:
How
Trump
and
the
Supreme
Court
helped
put
historic
Whole
Foods
union
bid
on
ice.” John
Kruzel
and
Daniel
Wiessner
of
Reuters
have this
report.
