Paul, Weiss has formed a dedicated team focused on all things digital, especially artificial intelligence. The group brings together well-credentialed lawyers with experience advising clients on AI, blockchain and cryptocurrency, as well as cybersecurity and data protection, including risks related to national security.
Co-heading the group is Katherine Forrest, a former federal judge who in recent years has helped clients navigate challenging issues at the intersection of AI and the law. Ms. Forrest can discuss a host of topics related to AI’s growing role in American life and business, including:
Reputational risk – how misuse of generative AI could adversely impact companies’ relationships with consumers, employees and other stakeholders, damaging credibility and trustworthy in the marketplace.
Litigation concerns – As AI deployment becomes more common in everything from R&D to product development and workplace decisions, it also poses new frontiers for litigation, including copyright and patent infringement, competition claims and discrimination stemming from so-called algorithmic bias. Ms. Forrest cautions that legal precedent is so far scant on how courts will rule in these areas.
Governance/ compliance risk – One emerging tension in AI is the intense energy consumption required to run many Big Data tools, which could pose environmental risk. With AI increasingly used in customer service, HR and even lending functions, its use can also expose companies to claims of automated bias against customers and workers. In governance as well, businesses may be called out for ethics and reliability lapses based on public commitments made that may have been based on AI and predictive technology.
Dispute resolution – Another evolving area of law is the role of AI in dispute resolution, including its use in trials, arbitrations and judicial proceedings. Last month, Ms. Forrest led discussion on AI and disputes at the International Arbitration Club of New York.
A member of Paul, Weiss’s litigation and antitrust groups, Ms. Forrest served as a U.S. District Judge for the important Southern District of New York, as well as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Dept.’s Antitrust Division. In addition to her extensive trial experience, she handles highly sensitive investigations and litigation matters, including those involving AI, cryptocurrency and blockchain.
The new AI/Digital Tech group is co-led by John P. Carlin, formerly the Justice Department’s highest-ranking lawyer on national security, who also co-heads Paul, Weiss’s cybersecurity and data protection practice. The AI group includes a core advisory team with all-star credentials in law enforcement and the Executive Branch.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a firm of about 1,000 lawyers with diverse backgrounds, personalities, ideas and interests who provide innovative and effective solutions to our clients’ most complex legal and business challenges. The firm represents many of the world’s largest and most important public and private corporations, asset managers and financial institutions, and clients in need of pro bono assistance.
