AI Counsel Blog Posts
Using AI in HR May Expose You to Legal Risk
by Zachary Barlow
May 12, 2025
I’ve written before about the broad legal risks that companies can face from using AI. Companies can face particularly heightened risk when using AI to perform Human Resources (HR) functions. HR is often the final say in hiring, firing, promotion, and compensation. These areas are sensitive to litigation risks because of federal and state antidiscrimination […]
Data Privacy: Addressing The Risks of Third-Party Vendor Data in M&A
by John Jenkins
May 8, 2025
Businesses rely extensively on third-party data service providers for many essential business operations, data processing and technology services. For companies engaging in M&A transactions, this reliance raises complex privacy threats associated with the integration and transfer of sensitive data controlled by networks of third-party vendors. A recent paper by Esther Arokun of Seattle University School […]
Cybersecurity: Managing Tariff-Related Data Risks
by John Jenkins
May 7, 2025
Companies juggling all of the business implications of the changes in US tariff policy should add managing data risks arising from those tariffs to the list. Here’s what Forrester has to say on that topic: Data risks come in different flavors: risks to data, risks from data, and risks in the data. Assess whether this change […]
Employee Use of AI: “The Call is Coming From Inside the House!”
by John Jenkins
May 6, 2025
I bet Zach got everyone’s attention last week when he blogged about the possibility that executives might be vicariously liable for employee misuse of AI tools. If that wasn’t enough to cause you to lose sleep over how employees use AI in the workplace, check out this new KPMG study. Among other things, it says […]
Cybersecurity: Communicating Effectively with Your Board
by John Jenkins
May 5, 2025
Communicating with boards of directors on cybersecurity issues presents several challenges, not the least of which is the fact that only 5% of company boards have a cybersecurity expert on them. But perhaps the biggest challenge is sorting out the signal from the noise – i.e., determining what information boards need to hear about cybersecurity […]
Could Executives Face Liability from Employee AI Use?
by Zachary Barlow
May 1, 2025
We’ve written before about AI copyright lawsuits and are following how those play out in court. This class of case, brought by copyright holders, alleges copyright infringement by AI developers who feed copyrighted work into an AI’s training data without permission. However, in the future, could we even see end users of generative AI sued […]
How Does AI Impact Your Insurance Coverage?
by Zachary Barlow
April 30, 2025
As AI begins impacting our daily lives and business operations, problems inevitably arise, resulting in legally actionable harms. When they do, an important question arises: Does my insurance policy cover this? That answer may vary as insurers carve out AI-related exclusions and offer new AI-related products. A recent memo from Stoel Rives dives deep into […]
JP Morgan Letter Urges Software Providers to Pump the Brakes
by Zachary Barlow
April 29, 2025
Rapid technological development comes with plenty of opportunities for software to disrupt and revolutionize industries. However, it also comes with serious risks when the development of new products comes at the expense of proper security features and testing. JP Morgan Chase recently published an open letter to its third-party software providers urging them to slow […]
Questions for GCs to Ask about AI
by Zachary Barlow
April 28, 2025
AI can help us be more efficient, but it can also be a Pandora’s box of unforeseen legal risks. These often fall to the organization’s General Counsel (GC) to manage. However, thinking of and planning for every possible contingency is no easy task. Weil has recently created a list of 25 Key Questions that General […]
Automated Hiring Tools: Are Yours Subject to AI Regulation?
by John Jenkins
April 24, 2025
Automated technologies are playing an increasing role in the hiring process at many companies, but as this Orrick memo points out, there comes a point where the amount of AI used in hiring tools may subject them to regulation. When do those automated hiring tools cross the line? This excerpt provides some insights: Lawmakers around […]