1. Home
2. Daily News
3. Despite lyrics mistake by AI, lawyer wasn’t…

Technology

Despite lyrics mistake by AI, lawyer wasn’t ineffective for using tech in rapper’s case, federal judge says

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 3, 2024, 12:09 pm CDT

A federal judge has refused to grant a new trial in a case of a rapper convicted for using straw donors in a back-channel lobbying campaign, despite evidence of a mistake by an artificial intelligence program used to help draft closing arguments.

Senior U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the District of Columbia upheld the verdict against Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, who was convicted in connection with his lobbying to get the United States to drop the case against a fugitive financier in connection with the collapse of the sovereign wealth fund 1MBD.

Michel’s crimes were related to “conduit contributions, witness tampering and foreign lobbying,” according to Kollar-Kotelly’s Aug. 30 opinion.

Kollar-Kotelly said the lyrics mistake by the AI program, in which another rapper’s lyrics were attributed to Michel, a member of the Fugees, a hip-hop group, did not undermine the case, even though Michel’s lawyer repeated the mistake in closing arguments.

Kollar-Kotelly said Michel had not established that his trial lawyers were ineffective for using the AI program because there was no showing of prejudice.

The Associated Press has coverage, while the Volokh Conspiracy published opinion highlights.

Michel’s lawyers had sought help from an AI program created by EyeLevel.AI with this prompt: “I am a passionate attorney who believes in my clients [sic] innocence. Write a powerful, emotionally compelling closing argument and integrate lyrics from ‘Ghetto [Supastar]’ by the band the Fugees.”

The AI program generated a closing argument that cited these lyrics by Puff Daddy, who is now known as Diddy: “Every step I take, every move I make, Every single day, every time I pray, I’ll be missing you.”

Michel’s lawyer used the lyrics in his closing this way: “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, in the prolific words of a band called the Fugees founded by Mr. Michel, there was a prescient song—I am not going to try to sing or rap, then you would all throw me out of the courtroom. But the lyrics went, ‘Every single day, every time I pray, I will be missing you.’ These words though originally written in a totally different context, speak to the profound impact this trial has had on Mr. Michel’s life. The weight of the decision as to how he moves forward in life lies within your sound common sense and judgment, which I know that you will bring to these deliberations.”

Kollar-Kotelly said Michel did not demonstrate a reasonable probability that the trial result would have been different with correct attribution of a lyric to Michel.

Kollar-Kotelly also rejected an argument that Michel’s lawyers apparently had an undisclosed financial conflict of interest in the company that launched EyeLevel.AI. In a press release, one of Michel’s lawyers said use of the AI program had been a “game changer” during the trial. The press release said the AI program had been launched with technology partner CaseFile Connect, which was partly owned by two of Michel’s lawyers.

But neither lawyer had a financial interest in EyeLevel.AI. Rather, the lawyers asked that the CaseFile Connect language be included in the press release to get free press for the company, one of the lawyers had testified.

1. Home
2. Daily News
3. These law firms are tops for midlevel associate…

Law Firms

These law firms are tops for midlevel associate satisfaction; how were their tech ratings?

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 5, 2024, 12:02 pm CDT

BigLaw’s midlevel associates have spoken. The top law firm for midlevel associate satisfaction is O’Melveny & Myers, according to results from the American Lawyer’s 2024 Midlevel Associates Survey published by Law.com.

“We’re given a lot of autonomy over our assignments, which means we can take more ownership over the final product and our schedules,” said one O’Melveny associate whose comments were published in another Law.com article. “It’s also a ‘mature’ firm, in that everyone understands, expects, and respects the fact we have lives and obligations beyond the firm.”

O’Melveny was also near the top in the 2024 Midlevel Associate Tech Survey, receiving a No. 2 ranking, according to Law.com. Indeed, the five firms on top for overall associate satisfaction also had high technology ratings.

The satisfaction and tech surveys were sent to BigLaw associates in their third, fourth and fifth years at 72 firms.

The satisfaction rankings consider 12 factors, including compensation, training and guidance, relationships with colleagues, work satisfaction, billable-hours policies and management transparency.

The top five firms on the midlevel associate satisfaction list, along with their tech rankings, are:

1. O’Melveny & Myers, ranked No. 2 for tech
2. Blank Rome, ranked No. 1 for tech
3. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, ranked No. 3 for tech
4. McDermott Will & Emery, ranked No. 4 for tech
5. Proskauer Rose, ranked No. 20 for tech

The fifth-ranked firm for tech, Baker & Hostetler, was ranked No. 9 for overall associate satisfaction.

Steptoe was in last place for overall associate satisfaction, while Covington & Burling was ranked last for tech.

One Steptoe associate complained about a failure to set expectations and provide constructive feedback. Covington associates complained that its tech is “abysmal” and “is still quite poor for a firm of its size.”

Will Drake, Steptoe’s professional development committee co-chair, told Law.com in a statement that the firm is committed to “cultivating an environment where our associates can thrive.” The firm’s recent efforts included a summer associate retreat, focus groups, one-on-one sessions and a new talent team, he told the publication.

Covington did not respond to Law.com’s request for comment. One associate said the firm attributed its poor showing to a low response rate to the survey.

1. Home
2. Daily News
3. Revised bar exam won’t use software that…

Bar Exam

Revised bar exam won’t use software that caused tech problems for some test-takers

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 1, 2024, 3:13 pm CST

The revised NextGen bar exam rolling out in some states in July 2026 won’t be using the ExamSoft software that led to complaints of crashes, frozen screens and faulty facial recognition by some test-takers.

The National Conference of Bar Examiners will be using a software called Surpass Assessment for the new exam, according to a Jan. 30 press release, Reuters and Law.com.

Surpass Assessment software is currently used by the National Board of Medical Examiners and other professional licensing boards.

States currently can choose from ExamSoft and two other platforms for the exam. The chief operating officer of one of the other software companies, Extegrity, criticized the decision to use only one company in an interview with Reuters.

“If you have all your eggs in one basket and then it doesn’t work, nobody else is ready to step in,” said Extegrity COO Greg Sarab.

The NextGen bar exam will be more focused on legal skills needed by newly licensed lawyers. It will be available, along with the current exam, through February 2028. After that, the old bar exam will fall by the wayside.

ExamSoft has said past problems appeared to be related to memory issues on some devices. A spokesperson for ExamSoft’s parent company told Reuters that it “continues to provide bar exam services” to states but did not offer further comment.

1. Home
2. Daily News
3. Reports of sexual harassment abound during…

Technology

Reports of sexual harassment abound during Legalweek tech conference

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 6, 2024, 9:15 am CST

Reports on social media about sexual harassment and assault during the New York Legalweek technology conference last week have led the event sponsor to issue a statement condemning the misbehavior.

Deeanna Fleener, vice president of solution management at Deloitte, is posting the reports from anonymous women on LinkedIn, report Above the Law and the Global Legal Post.

“In a group of 29 women, 20 had personal stories of inappropriate behavior at a conference,” Fleener wrote. “That is unacceptable, and we have to do better.”

Event sponsor ALM, which publishes Law.com, said the alleged harassment happened off-site, and it wanted to “reiterate our strong position that any such behavior has zero place in any setting.”

Fleener posted allegations by women that included:

  • “Last night, I was propositioned in the most graphic way I’ve ever heard. When I turned him down, he tried to convince me to leave with him by telling me his pregnant wife was on bed rest, and I was doing her a favor.”

  • “A leader at a firm showed me a video of [two] girls under 20 in his bedroom naked and … invited me and the other woman I was with to join him.”

  • “A woman went to the bathroom and was pulled into the men’s room by a man who then wouldn’t let her leave.”

Here is the full ALM statement: “ALM has been made aware of reports of occurrences of highly inappropriate behavior, including harassment and assault, occurring at unaffiliated venues in New York City during the week of its Legalweek event. We first want to vehemently condemn all such actions and reiterate our strong position that any such behavior has zero place in any setting. While these acts did not occur on-site at Legalweek or at any conference-sponsored events, ALM prides itself on the community connections it creates and is committed to partnering with other key stakeholders to prevent harassment of any industry member.

“Our long-standing events policy provides that ALM is dedicated to providing a respectful conference experience for everyone and harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. We will continue to work internally and with external stakeholders in the community to determine how we can best champion meaningful, positive change for the legal community and address the larger problem in the industry.”

Commenting on the statement, Above the Law said it “hits all the right notes,” but the problem is more widespread.

“Allegations of all sorts of similar awful behavior have permeated every part of the legal industry: academia, the judiciary, law firms, government, politics,” Above the Law wrote. “It’s the industry that needs to respond, not just ALM.”

As 2023 draws to a close, the Legal Rebels Podcast looks at the top stories in legal technology for the year.

Between the explosion in popularity of ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools, the continued use of virtual or hybrid working arrangements and the underwhelming mergers and acquisitions market, it was certainly an eventful year.

This month’s guest is Nicole Black, the senior director of subject matter expertise and external education at MyCase and an ABA Journal columnist. She is the nationally recognized author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers and is co-author of Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier, which are published by the ABA. She also writes columns about legal tech for the Journal. She speaks with the Journal’s Victor Li about the top legal tech stories of 2023.

Want to listen on the go? Legal Rebels is available on several podcast listening services. Subscribe and never miss an episode.
Apple | Spotify | Google Play

In This Podcast:

Nicole Black

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].