Today’s DJ has retired PJ Gilbert’s ‘The horror! The horror!’ Reliance on algorithmic decision-making risks eroding human judgment, judicial integrity and the intellectual craftsmanship that defines the law. He writes:
AI could never match the elegant writing of my dear friend, appellate lawyer Bob Gerstein, who passed away on March 19. I mention Bob because of the clarity of his writing, his elegant style that I dare AI to match. Bob was the supreme appellate lawyer. “Supreme” is the appropriate description because Bob was highly respected by our Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal throughout California and beyond. No AI for Bob. He crafted elegant briefs that reflected the depth of his knowledge. His legal insights were often enhanced by his broad storehouse of knowledge of philosophy and the arts. He delivered his arguments in a gentle manner with irrefutable logic. Bob, I miss you, but take heart knowing that your influence and our friendship continue.
For over a decade Bob and I taught a class for new trial judges at California’s unique judges’ college. Our course included ways in which a judge could analyze how to decide a case for which there was no ready answer in statutes or past case law. We drew upon the works of legal philosophers and the humanities to give judges a rich storehouse to draw upon. Our course drew rave reviews. But with changing of the guard and new management, our course was dropped without so much as a “thank you,” keeping in vogue with current mores. Imagine having judges read passages of legal philosophy, Measure for Measure, in addition to case law, as a component of their legal education. The horror, the horror in not doing so. Maybe we should have asked ChatGPT to summarize Measure for Measure.
The LA Times obit for Bob Gerstein is here.
Law360 has 6th Circ. Axes Atty For ‘Inexcusable’ AI ‘Transgressions’ — “An attorney committed “inexcusable transgressions” by relying on Westlaw’s internal CoCounsel artificial intelligence platform for appellate filings and by failing to catch erroneous AI-generated content, the Sixth Circuit said Friday and removed the lawyer from further representing a man who pled guilty to drug trafficking charges.” Published opinion here.
Law.com has ‘No Forewarning Necessary’: Divided 3rd Circuit Weighs Discipline for Attorney’s Use of AI Hallucinations — The dissenting judge said that the majority doesn’t need to warn attorneys to use artificial intelligence responsibly, opining that “[n]o forewarning is necessary when it is clear what standard the attorney was required to follow.”
Law360 announces practitioner Editorial Board members for 2026. For its Appellate coverage, there’s an eddy board of a dozen appellate lawyers (7 in DC). California’s two selections cover the north (MoFo SF’s Aileen McGrath) and the south (Duane Morris LA’s Ben Shatz).