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Law Firms

Morgan Lewis, plaintiff settle alleged age, race bias case

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 19, 2025, 9:01 am CST

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and a patent prosecution specialist who sued for alleged age and race bias have agreed to dismiss the case.

The dismissal followed a settlement agreement between the law firm and the plaintiff, Melinda Robertson, Law360 reports.

Robertson’s attorney, Neil S. Hyman, told Law360 on Feb. 12 that a settlement had been reached, but he could not provide details.

Robertson, a Black patent prosecution specialist born in 1962, had alleged that Morgan Lewis gave better opportunities to white, younger co-workers. When she complained, Robertson alleged, the firm retaliated by having weekly performance meetings in a glass-walled conference room visible to colleagues.

Robertson had filed her lawsuit in March 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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Bar Exam

Teen who enrolled in law school at age 13 becomes youngest person to pass California bar exam

By Debra Cassens Weiss

November 19, 2024, 8:51 am CST

A 17-year-old girl has beaten her brother’s record to become the youngest person to pass the California bar exam.

Sophia Park passed the California bar Nov. 8 when she was 17 years and 8 months old, report YourCentralValley.com, the Sun-Gazette, the Visalia Times Delta, KMPH, ABC News and a Nov. 13 press release.

Park’s brother Peter Park was 17 years and 11 months old when he became the youngest person to pass the California bar in November 2023. Park will join her brother working for the Tulare County district attorney’s office in California.

“I don’t think it was extremely difficult,” Park said of the bar exam in an interview, according to YourCentralValley.com. “But I do think there was difficulty in how much you had to put into your brain in a limited period of time.”

Park graduated from the Northwestern California University School of Law in 2024. The school offers online instruction and is accredited by the State Bar of California, according to its website.

Park first considered a legal career after a sixth grade career survey said she should consider the profession.

Park started law school at age 13 in 2020 while she was in junior high school. During her freshman year of high school, she concluded that her work there was taking up a lot of her time, so she took and passed the California High School Proficiency Exam.

Park worked as a summer intern at the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office at age 16 and has been working as a law clerk in the Tulare County district attorney’s office. She will begin work as a prosecutor after she is sworn in as a licensed attorney in March 2025 upon turning 18, according to the press release.

“I wanted to work for the prosecution,” Park told the Sun-Gazette, “because I like the idea that I get to represent the people of the state of California, keep our community safe and make sure that justice is served.”

Park’s record may be surpassed by her younger sister, who is 14 years old and in her second year of law school, Park told KMPH. Her younger brother, who is 8 years old, also wants to be a lawyer; he dressed as one for Halloween.

Leah Wilson, the State Bar of California’s executive director, told ABC News that passing the bar is a “remarkable achievement” that follows Peter Park’s similar success last year.

“Passing the state bar exam at any age is a tremendous accomplishment, and to do so at 17 is truly exceptional,” Wilson said.

A little over a year ago, ChatGPT-4 was released, and in that short time, the functionality of generative artificial intelligence has been added to many of the tools that we regularly use in our day-to-day workflows. From research and brainstorming to data analysis and translation, generative AI is changing how work gets done.

The legal profession has not been immune from this trend, and legal technology companies have shared news of generative AI plans and releases with increasing frequency since the start of the year. One of the most notable categories of generative AI integration has been legal research, with many established companies embedding it into their platforms.

Generative AI and legal research are a great fit because the large language models utilized by generative AI tools rely on massive datasets to ensure accurate and appropriate responses to inquiries. The internet era has seen the digitization of statutes, regulations and caselaw, thus enabling the training of LLMs for legal research purposes.

However, despite the abundance of training data, generative AI tools are still in their infancy and sometimes provide inaccurate responses, also known as “hallucinations.” Lawyers continue to make the news for utilizing these tools for legal research and submitting documents to courts that contain false case citations.

These errors happen because attorneys fail to review the submissions and blindly rely on the output of generative AI tools. Most often, the tools used in these cases are consumer-based chatbots, such as ChatGPT, which are more prone to hallucination in the legal research context.

For that reason, I recommend that lawyers use only generative AI legal research tools developed by legal tech companies because those providers understand the legal professions’ unique practical and ethical requirements and can reduce the frequency of inaccurate responses.

Given the nascent state of the technology today, even legal-specific products sometimes hallucinate and provide inaccurate outputs.

As a result, you must treat generative AI tools just as you would an entry-level associate and carefully review all responses to ensure their accuracy, including case citations and the cases themselves. The failure to do so violates your competency obligations and could result in professional disciplinary action, court censures or even news headlines. So take advantage of these tools and the savings on time that they offer, but don’t cut corners by ignoring basic ethics rules.

When I last wrote about legal research options in 2019, AI was being used to provide more accurate results, but generative AI was not available.

Now that generative AI is embedded into many legal research products, the challenge becomes sifting through the available options and choosing the right tool for your law firm’s legal research needs. In this article, I’ll highlight many of the products that include generative AI features that are publicly available or in beta.

Choosing a generative AI research tool

Below, I’ll provide a detailed look at some of the leading solutions in the market, including their pricing details when possible. Whether you’re a seasoned legal professional or just beginning to explore the potential of AI in your practice, this overview is designed to equip you with the knowledge needed to make the right choice for your firm.

When choosing a legal research tool, understand that the platforms discussed below are cloud-based. As a result, all your firm’s data will be housed on servers owned by a third party, and the duty of technology competence requires you to vet all technology providers that will be hosting and storing your data. You must fully understand how that company will handle the data; where the servers on which the data will be stored are located; who will have access to it; and how and when it will be backed up, among other things.

Westlaw Precision

Now, let’s explore key considerations when selecting a generative AI legal research tool, starting with Thomson Reuters, which has invested heavily in AI in recent years.

Its legal research tool, Westlaw Precision, now includes generative AI-assisted research that relies on a combination of Microsoft Azure and OpenAI’s commercial API for GPT-4. This functionality was launched publicly in November 2023. With it, users submit research queries, and generative AI-powered responses are provided in narrative form, including footnotes to supporting citations. Responses will sometimes take between 90 seconds to three minutes.

Westlaw Precision pricing is not available on the website.

Lexis+ AI

LexisNexis also offers generative AI legal research functionality via Lexis+ AI, which was launched in October 2023. This tool utilizes several LLMs, including GPT-4 and Anthropic’s Claude 2, depending on the task requested.

Users can conduct legal research, draft documents, seek answers to legal questions, and summarize cases and documents. Responses to queries include linked citations to sources.

Pricing depends on the features and datasets used. And to ensure availability to firms of all sizes, modules for different types of functions—such as drafting or summarizing—can be purchased separately. Pricing is not available on the website.

Paxton AI

Another option to consider is Paxton AI, which is a startup that provides a generative AI legal research tool that also drafts documents and includes contract review features. Coverage includes caselaw, statutes and regulations for all 50 states, including federal data. Research results include links to the cited sources.

Pricing starts with a basic package, the free tier, which only allows a limited number of queries and limited access to statutory and regulatory data. If you’re not a student, pricing for access to all databases without limits starts at $99 per user per month.

Vincent AI

Next up, is vLex’s research assistant, Vincent AI, which was upgraded in October 2023 to include generative AI features available in beta. This tool can be used to create a research memo, build an argument, spot legal issues, draft headnote summaries, conduct a search by uploading a document, and obtain related authorities. It can also be accessed directly in Microsoft Word when drafting a memorandum of law or other documents.

Pricing isn’t available on the website.

Copilot

Finally, another option is LawDroid’s Copilot. Copilot was launched in beta in January 2023 and released publicly last month. With this product, users can conduct legal research using Copilot’s generative AI legal assistant interface. It can also be used to draft, translate and summarize documents.

The cost is $19 per user per month, and a free trial is also available.

When the time is right

Generative AI can be a game-changer for legal research, allowing you to access and analyze information more efficiently than ever.

However, built-in capabilities and costs can vary greatly, so choosing the right tool for your firm isn’t always easy. Given the rapid rate of technological advancements, there’s no better time than now to review your options and learn more about generative AI-powered legal research tools.

Whether you adopt these tools right away or down the road, by obtaining foundational knowledge about this technology, you’ll be better equipped to wisely invest when the time is right.

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Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York-based attorney, author and journalist, and she is senior director of subject matter expertise and external education at MyCase, a company that offers legal practice management software for small firms. She is the nationally recognized author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers and is co-author of Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier, both published by the American Bar Association. She writes regular columns for ABAJournal.com and Above the Law, has authored hundreds of articles for other publications, and regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law and emerging technologies. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @nikiblack, or she can be reached at [email protected].

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This column reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily the views of the ABA Journal—or the American Bar Association.

Ever have that thought? “I must be losing my mind because I can’t remember where I parked my car or set my iPhone, your name—although I recognize your face—an address, a birthday, a password, a set of numbers, what I was looking for, etc.” Many aging lawyers have—including me.

Are we really losing it, or is it just another “senior moment” that is part of the natural aging process? And in either case, what can we do about it? I want to talk about maintaining and improving cognitive abilities as we senior lawyers age.

But first, my disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor or trained health care professional in neurology, brain diseases and their diagnoses; the natural aging process; or treatments and prevention of cognitive impairment. I am a senior lawyer who is aging and has an interest in the subject matter because my brain is an indispensable component of successful lawyering.

Keeping my brain healthy has been and continues to be very important to me, as I suspect it is to all senior lawyers.

If you have real concerns about your memory “episodes,” for example, if they interfere with your practice of law or other routine daily activities, you should consult your physician or other health care team members to evaluate your condition and follow their recommendations.

For those senior lawyers who have suffered a brain injury or have been diagnosed with dementia, continue working with your health care team to establish and follow a proper treatment program. This article is not intended to address any of these situations, although an article on mild cognitive impairment published by the Cleveland Clinic identifies steps discussed below as ones that can help keep your brain healthy and reduce the risk of suffering MCI.

Because I am not a medical doctor or a trained health care professional, I consulted some of the many authoritative articles that are readily available on the subject of brain health, which is defined in a National Institute on Aging article to mean “how well a person’s brain functions across several areas,” one of which is cognitive health or “how well you think, learn and remember.”

There seems to be widespread agreement on a number of steps that we can take to maintain, regain and improve our cognitive abilities and our brain’s functioning.

Stay mentally active

Engage in regular challenging mental activity to help maintain brain cell health and stimulate communication among them.

Challenging mental activity is commonplace for lawyers. In fact, I have joked with colleagues that the legal matter seemed easy so I must have missed something. The practice of law is challenging and seems to be ever evolving in its breadth and complexity.

There are new clients to engage and learn their business or legal needs; new laws or regulations to read, digest and apply; new cases to read to stay current in my areas of practice; new articles to write; new attorneys to train; new technology to master; new programs to plan; and the list continues.

For me, one of the attractions to practicing law was the lifelong learning that it offered. I found that to be true and have transitioned my practice areas multiple times in my career. I seek variety in my practice in order to stay engaged. So far, I have not been disappointed.

If you are no longer actively practicing law, then learning new skills will contribute to healthy cognitive functioning as we age, such as playing the guitar or painting, volunteering to help build houses with Habitat for Humanity, mentoring disadvantaged children or adults, reading a new genre of books, playing card games, assembling jigsaw puzzles, or pursuing other creative activities in which you have an interest.

One of the articles suggests that the best new activity is one that is challenging, complex and requires constant practice.

Manage stress

Without question, the practice of law is stressful, and adding issues with cognitive ability into the mix compounds the stress. Learning ways that work for a lawyer to manage stress is important at all stages of a lawyer’s career.

It does not start when the lawyer becomes a senior lawyer. If you are no longer actively practicing law, then you have removed a significant stress factor, but perhaps you have encountered new ones. There exists many readily available books, articles and recommendations for managing stress that you can review and find what is best for your personal situation. To help manage stress related to cognition issues, select and practice the steps discussed in this article that you find work for you.

Exercise regularly

Regular exercise not only helps with stress management, something that is good for our brain in and of itself, but it also helps with other factors that can affect cognitive functioning, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar, weight and cardiovascular issues.

Physical activity also helps us sleep better and reduces risks of depression and anxiety. The type of exercise can vary depending upon your physical health, and consulting your physician before undertaking a new exercise regimen is a standard recommendation for those who have underlying health issues or have not previously exercised regularly.

The key is to get moving or keep moving, and if it happens to involve learning a new skill, like pickleball or swimming, there is a mental challenge component that helps improve brain functioning too. The brain needs to be challenged repetitively by complex activity that requires it to work.

Sleep

Sleep enables the brain to “reboot,” that is, to consolidate and store memories effectively. The best sleep is seven to eight consecutive hours, as opposed to two- to three-hour intervals. But the amount of sleep needed varies with age. You may need to consult your health care team to rule out sleep apnea or other potential causes for sleep interferences.

Diet

Pay attention to your diet. Eating the right foods, such as those in a Mediterranean style diet of fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, unsaturated oils (i.e., olive oil) and plant sources of protein not only helps your physical health but also helps improve your brain health.

Social connections

Social connections are important to stimulate your brain. According to the NIA article, “People who engage in personally meaningful and productive activities with others tend to live longer, boost their mood and have a sense of purpose.”

One way to stay connected is by volunteering to serve on an ABA Senior Lawyers Division committee that is tasked with something meaningful to you. There are numerous opportunities to serve nonprofit organizations and mentoring programs serving the needs of others, and as lawyers, we have developed valuable skill sets to contribute.

Protection

As we age, the risk of falls tends to increase, and our balance may not be as good as before. It is important to protect against physical injury to our brains. If you are experiencing balance issues or have issues with falls, consult your physician or health care team to determine the cause, and then develop and follow a care plan with them.

In addition, there are programs available to help you with these issues. For example, in my community, the YMCA offers a program specifically designed for adults age 55 and older that includes strength building, yoga, water exercise, low-impact aerobics and other balance-related exercises.

Stop tobacco use

If you smoke or chew, stop. Tobacco use has been shown to have numerous detrimental physical health effects, some of which can impact brain health.

For help quitting, you can call 800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669), or access the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s resources on quitting smoking.

Alcohol in moderation

If you consume alcohol, do so in moderation. Alcohol abuse has been shown to cause depression and may be linked to dementia. If you are addicted, seek help. The ABA maintains a directory of lawyer assistance programs by state, which you can access here. These programs provide confidential assistance to judges, lawyers and law students with substance use disorders and other mental health issues.

While we cannot completely eliminate the effects of aging on our cognitive health, we can take steps to reduce its impact.

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Editor’s Note: This column originally ran in the ABA Senior Lawyers Division publication Voice of Experience in December 2023.

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Rod Kubat is a shareholder in the Des Moines, Iowa, office of Nyemaster Goode, where he represents closely held, privately owned companies in a wide variety of industries and lenders and client borrowers in all types of secured credit facilities and sophisticated structured finance transactions.

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ABAJournal.com is accepting queries for original, thoughtful, nonpromotional articles and commentary by unpaid contributors to run in the Your Voice section. Details and submission guidelines are posted at “Your Submissions, Your Voice.”

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This column reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily the views of the ABA Journal—or the American Bar Association.

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Juvenile Justice

Mother of boy arrested at age 10 for public urination won’t sign probation agreement

By Debra Cassens Weiss

December 21, 2023, 12:14 pm CST

The mother of a 10-year-old boy arrested in Mississippi for urinating in public won’t be signing the probation agreement, according to the family’s lawyer.

Lawyer Carlos Moore said Tuesday the mother “cannot in good conscience accept a probation agreement that treats a 10-year-old child as a criminal,” the Associated Press reports.

“The terms proposed are not in the best interest of our client, and we will take all necessary steps to challenge them,” Moore said.

The agreement is similar to an adult probation agreement in that it bans the use of weapons and requires drug tests if the probation officer wants them, Moore said. The agreement also imposes an 8 p.m. curfew.

The child, who is Black, was arrested in Senatobia, Mississippi, on Aug. 10, when police saw him urinating by his mother’s car while she was in a lawyer’s office. Police put the youth in a squad car and held him in a jail cell, the mother has said. Police said he was not handcuffed.

The child was charged with being a minor in need of supervision. Moore said prosecutors threatened to upgrade the charge to disorderly conduct if the case went trial.

Judge Rusty Harlow, a Tate County, Mississippi, youth court judge, sentenced the child to write a two-page book report and to serve three months of probation. The boy was not declared delinquent or in need of supervision, Moore told CNN after the hearing.

Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler has said the officers violated their training on dealing with children, and one of them is no longer employed.