Word of the week: trade.
In legal tech last week, trade was everywhere: the US hosted China for talks on geopolitics, trade and AI, and OpenAI and Apple squared off over evidence in their trade secrets case. EDRM project leaders put the finishing touches on our RelFest presentation, and we put out a call for nominations for Rising Stars at eDiscovery Day, powered by Exterro.
When trade turns to fraud, investigators and counsel need a plan. Join us on Wednesday, October 7, at 12 PM ET, when HaystackID Vice President and General Counsel Ashish Prasad leads a panel of experts through best practices for this emerging practice area. Register for Trade Fraud Investigation Best Practices.
Mary Mack, CEO and Chief Legal Technologist, EDRM.
EDRM is interested in publishing thought leadership articles and posts to move our community forward. Contact us at info@edrm.net for guidelines or to suggest a topic for one of our authors..
On the EDRM Blog
- EDRM Encourages Nominations for Rising Stars of eDiscovery
- Should There Be an “A.I. Exception” to Liberal Construction of Pro Se Pleadings?
- The Standard for In Camera Review
- Search Finds The Initial Evidence. CAL Learns What Comes Next.
Upcoming Live Webinars on the EDRM Global Webinar Channel
- 7 October | 12 PM ET – [HaystackID® Webcast] Trade Fraud Investigation Best Practices
- 13 October | 1 PM ET – The Judicious Judge’s Guide to Generative Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models – Session 1
- 20 October | 1 PM ET –Comprehensive eDiscovery Case Management
Can’t make it to a live session? Past EDRM webinars are available to watch anytime on the EDRM Global Webinar Channel. Missed a recent one? Catch up on our most recent on-demand webinars:
- [HaystackID® Webcast] From Breach to Legal Crisis: The Hours That Define Your Exposure
- Inside EDRM 2.0: The Trustees Discuss the New Model
- [HaystackID® Webcast] Getting AI Right in eDiscovery: Quality, Validation, and Results
Updates from Around the Globe
Global Legal Tech Developments: According to recently unsealed documents in a child safety trial, Meta’s team ordered “A/C Priv”-labeled hats, although it is not clear that anyone wore them. Using legal process and a network of partners, Microsoft seized 50 websites and 150 more domains used to operate EvilTokens, a sophisticated, AI-assisted phishing-for-hire platform. A court ruled that the US can blacklist Anthropic for refusing to enable certain Claude features. Above the Law reported on the BigLaw firms that strike fear in the hearts of opposing counsel; BTI Consulting’s full list of the most feared firms is here. Tesla workers at a robot factory balked at training their robot replacements. Apple lost a haptic feedback IP jury trial, with $5.7 billion in damages awarded to Taction. The Disney Fanatic site published an alleged internal Disney legal team memo portending layoffs. Harvey introduced a pro bono program. Astra and Opus passed Turing’s other test.
International eDiscovery Trends: Epiq acquired data breach response software company Canopy. New forensic cell phone evidence in the Nolan Wells death investigation includes photos and a group chat that was active after his death. Messages and device activity are at the heart of an evidence and expert witness dispute in the OpenAI and Apple trade secrets case. OpenAI detailed more rogue behavior by its models, including posting user images online. Fortune compiled the misalignment incidents, including the New York Times account of how link shorteners were used to store distributed fragments that, when reassembled, would form an executable computer program. Even gas-powered cars are susceptible to software glitches. Replying STOP to spam texts can put you on the “live human” list for even more spam; here’s how to block them. The US Pentagon reported a major data breach involving the personal information of current and retired personnel. Thank you to eDiscovery Today’s Kitchen Sink for covering Michael D. Berman’s Should There Be an “A.I. Exception” to Liberal Construction of Pro Se Pleadings? and Ralph Losey’s EDRM 2.0 Is Here: eDiscovery Has a New Map.
World Events Impacting Legal Tech: China and the US agreed to some trade terms and a notification process for AI incidents, and to start calling AI superintelligence (SI). While Danish intelligence warned that Russia will attack NATO within the year, Russia ordered businesses at risk of drone strikes to bolster their own air defenses or face seizure. Ukraine’s steel industry is nearing collapse and has asked for help from abroad. Ukraine airdropped robots and drones behind enemy lines to clear mines as it defeated a Russian pincer movement. At the UN, the Saudi foreign minister asked for help against the Houthis, warning that their threat could go global. A Nor’easter during the full moon deluged the East Coast.
Catch our latest syndicated EDRM Global Podcast Network episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.
Illumination Zone Podcasts
Recent guests include:
- Episode 242 | Esther Birnbaum, Executive Vice President of Data Intelligence, HaystackID
- Episode 241 | Gabe Landau, Senior Vice President of eDiscovery and Incident Response Solutions, HaystackID
- Episode 240 | Harsh Behl, Vice President of Product Management, Exterro
EDRM Announcements
- Survey Request: Cybersecurity, information governance and legal discovery professionals are invited to complete ComplexDiscovery OÜ’s Summer 2026 eDiscovery Pricing Survey. Now in its 16th edition and conducted in partnership with EDRM, the anonymized survey takes approximately five minutes and is open through November 20, 2026.
- Upcoming RelFest Session: Join EDRM’s session at RelFest Chicago 2026, EDRM in Action: Framework Updates and Faster, Lower-Cost Email Discovery, on Wednesday, September 30, from 3:30–4:15 p.m. CT. Learn how EDRM 2.0 and IGRM 4.1 support Legal Data Intelligence and explore practical approaches to email deduplication and cross-border data movement.
- Save your spot, nominate a Rising Star: eDiscovery Day is December 3, 2026. Now in its 12th year, the annual event is organized by Trusted Partner Exterro, with EDRM proud to support. The program and website are live, and nominations for Rising Stars of eDiscovery are open. eDiscovery Day 2026 to “Put AI on Trial” with Live Debate Judged by a Sitting Federal Judge on December 3
Weekly Community Support Call: Join us every Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET on Zoom for support and camaraderie. Email info@edrm.net for an invitation to our 344th call. For mental health care, consider these professional resources.
All are welcome,
Mary and Holley
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P.S. This update was assisted by GAI and LLM Technologies as per EDRM’s GAI and LLM Policy.
