I spoke with Matt Mahon, the Vice President for Client Solutions at Level Legal, a concierge digital forensics, e-discovery, and managed review partner for law firms and corporate legal departments. We discussed how AI is changing e-discovery, the value of tailoring the client experience, the most interesting challenges involving emojis, and Legalweek 2026.
Event Alert Update: Wilson Sonsini’s MCLE Days, March Session Announced and February Recordings Available
Each year, Wilson Sonsini hosts CLE session(s) for clients and friends of the firm. For those with upcoming MCLE compliance deadlines, and those on a rolling basis, we are pleased to offer an expanded series of three programs designed to support you in meeting your requirements.
The third and final of our three MCLE Days will be held on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at our offices in Palo Alto, California (details below), and will also be available virtually. Register for this event here.
AI and privilege: Assessing recent court rulings
We recently drafted an article that discussed court decisions that reached very different conclusions about how the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine apply to materials submitted to and created by generative AI (GenAI) tools. A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, United States v. Heppner,
Glyphosate in Defense of America? AI Answers May Be Misleading? Who Knew?!
A February 18, 2026, Executive Order (EO) from President Trump, entitled “Promoting the National Defense by Ensuring an Adequate Supply of Elemental Phosphorus and Glyphosate-Based Herbicides,” concerns phosphorus’ use as a critical mineral in fertilizers for crop production (and the manufacture of explosives, among other things), and the role phosphorus plays in the production of
There’s No Citation System for Practitioner Publishing. That’s a Problem.
Case law has a citation system. Statutes have one. Law reviews have one.
But when a practicing lawyer shares insight and commentary on the law, whether it be interpreting primary law or breaking down the law for clients or the public there’s nothing.
No structured way for lawyers or the court to cite it. No
Vibe Coding and the Control Plane
Many friends and colleagues in the legal technology world have been telling me I need to start vibe coding. My answer is that in vibe coding, you are intentionally surrendering the control plane. That is not a tradeoff I am willing to make.Let me explain why that is a principle, not a preference, and why
Use of AI Call Center Without Consent Not a Federal Wiretap Violation, Court Holds
As businesses increasingly deploy AI-powered call centers to streamline customer service, plaintiffs have turned to decades-old wiretapping laws to challenge these tools. In a recent decision, however, an Illinois federal district court held that use of an AI call analysis platform without caller consent does not violate the federal Wiretap Act because it falls within the statute’s ordinary course of business exception. Lisota v. Heartland Dental, LLC, 2026 WL 91667, at *6 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 13, 2026).
California Employment News: Navigating AI Compliance: Employer Best Practices Pt.1
AI is showing up in hiring, recruiting, performance management, and employee monitoring. While these tools promise efficiency, they can also create significant legal risk if they result in discriminatory outcomes. In this episode of California Employment News, Weintraub Tobin attorneys Jackie Simonovich and Lukas Clary discuss how employer use of AI can implicate Title VII, the ADA, and FEHA, and review key new California AI laws and deadlines.
Dear Counsel, Meet Exhibit A: Your Client’s ChatGPT History
Privilege and Work Product in the Age of AI
Depending on which court you ask, your latest prompt to an artificial intelligence (“AI”) chatbot is either a protected private thought or a voluntary disclosure to someone other than your lawyer. In a legal landscape struggling to keep pace with technology, two ‘first-of-their-kind’ rulings—United States
Cannabis Patents: How Evolving Marijuana Laws Affect Plant, Seed, and Processing Innovation
Abstract
The uneven evolution of federal and state cannabis laws continues to frustrate cannabis business operations, including, but not limited to, how intellectual property is created, valued, and deployed. While trademark rights remain closely tethered to lawful commercial use in interstate commerce,[1] patent rights operate under a different legal framework—one that has historically permitted