LJN Newsletters

Artificial intelligence is everywhere in 2026. The promise is real, but who is tracking how your AI agreements are reshaping enterprise risk? And how has that risk changed with the increase in agreements and obligations related to these AI tools? Enter the AI playbook.

Until recently, little focus has been placed on the impact of “vibe lawyering,” i.e., non-lawyers, including clients, using AI to conduct their own analysis of a legal issue, either before, after, or instead of consulting with counsel. Two recent federal court decisions highlight the risks of vibe lawyering beyond the issue of hallucinated citations and indicate potential benefits to both lawyers and pro se litigants in relation to the use of AI.

Companies and individuals prosecuted for tariff-related offenses are often surprised. In addition to the overall complexity of the regulatory framework, the ambiguity of tariff regulations frequently creates confusion about how to comply. The same confusion that leads to charges of non-compliance, however, can also be the source of an effective defense to those charges. This article examines potential defenses in tariff evasion and non-compliance prosecutions and offers practical guidance for counsel preparing to litigate them.

After nearly two decades of separation from the business that bore his name, golf legend Jack Nicklaus has reclaimed ownership of his brand and the iconic “Golden Bear” trademark, marking a significant legal and commercial victory following a protracted dispute and bankruptcy proceedings involving his former company.

Burnout in the legal profession is not a passing phase or a buzzword — it is a measurable, widespread occupational hazard. It is not just a personal struggle. In law firms, corporate legal departments, courts, and public agencies, burnout affects productivity, morale, client service, malpractice risk, and ultimately the bottom line.

Given the headwinds in the retail sector generally, investors in net lease retail portfolios may want to confirm that any master lease structures they utilize will be treated as unitary contracts by bankruptcy courts for purposes of assumption or rejection of the debtor/tenant’s obligations.

Lawyers gain their strength and effectiveness from hard work. We have not been able to persuade ourselves that the so-called shortcut of prompting a machine to produce a more believable answer is a good thing, if it robs the product, the client, the court, and the lawyer’s reputation of the benefit of immersive research into the facts, policies, goals, and history of the problem and the present state of the law.

Identifying the risk that deepfakes pose to your organization, providing your employees with tools to identify, respond, and mitigate a deepfake fraud scheme, and considering implementing detection and behavior monitoring tools will help prevent your organization from being victimized.