An ESI Protocol Does Not [Necessarily?] Supersede the Discovery Rules

A federal court held that an ESI Protocol implements the Federal Rules rather than replacing them, rejecting a defendant’s argument that it could skip a plainly relevant custodian simply because he wasn’t named in the...

A Deep Dive Into the Pikesville, MD, Racist/Antisemitic Deepfake Audio

A viral deepfake audio recording nearly destroyed a Maryland principal’s career and led to criminal charges, two civil suits, and a Daubert hearing where a forensic audio expert could not confirm AI was used, but...

Restrictions on Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools to Process Disclosure Materials

Glass Houses Proverb—Don’t Throw Stones and Invective

A Court of Federal Claims judge sanctioned plaintiffs’ counsel under RCFC 11 for confidently asserting settled North Carolina law without citing a single supporting case, then calling the government’s correct position “frivolous.” The same opinion...

Information Governance–Employee’s Use of Employer’s Email for Privileged Communications

Michael Berman analyzed Lalwani v. Trustees of Indiana University where an employee, plaintiff  Mr. Lalwani, had communicated with his lawyers using the employer-defendant university’s email system that found Indiana University to be a public institution...

Another A.I. Protective Order

Protective orders addressing the use of A.I. to review materials produced to an opponent in discovery are becoming routine.  The stipulated protective order in RMME LLC v. Majestic Steel USA, Inc., 2026 WL 1831063, at...

It is Improper to Combine Interrogatories and Document Requests

Does Microsoft Teams Require Different Search Terms Than Email?

In Kim v. Cushman & Wakefield, a Central District of California court found that keyword searches adequate for email may be insufficient for Microsoft Teams, where messages are shorter, more informal, and less likely to...

Is it OK if “Actual Authorities” Support the “Bogus” Proposition Set Out in a Hallucinated Case?

In Withers v. City of Aberdeen, a federal court rejected the argument that attorneys should avoid sanctions for citing AI-hallucinated cases simply because legitimate authorities support the same legal propositions. The decision emphasizes that fake...

A.I. Protective Order—Again

Two recent Southern District of New York cases highlight a growing trend in discovery practice: protective orders that regulate how parties may use confidential discovery materials with AI tools. While not universal, these provisions increasingly...

Trial Court’s Order Contained Hallucinated Mistake

The Georgia Court of Appeals rebuked both counsel and the trial court after a proposed order containing a hallucinated case citation was submitted and signed. In Henry County Schools v. Grant, the court highlighted errors...

Grant of Defendant’s Summary Judgment Motion Led to Denial of Defendant’s Sanctions Motion

In Flynn v. Kone, Inc., the District of Maryland denied a sanctions motion alleging failure to preserve text messages after granting summary judgment for the defendant. The decision highlights the practical impact of dispositive rulings...