Ride the Lightning

Second Judge Requires Lawyers to Disclose AI Use

June 13, 2023

Will there be a snowball effect here? Who knows?

Reuters reported on June 8 that Judge Stephen Vaden, a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade, issued an order requiring lawyers to disclose their use of generative AI to create legal documents, expressing his security concerns involving confidential data.

In cases before Judge Vaden, if a generative AI tool is used to assist in drafting the text of documents, the attorney is required to file a notice stating which tool was used and “the specific portions of text that have been so drafted.”

Additionally, they must file a certification that use of the technology “has not resulted in the disclosure of any confidential or business proprietary information to any unauthorized party.”

AI technologies “challenge the Court’s ability to protect confidential and business proprietary information from access by unauthorized parties,” Vaden said in his order.

As the judge noted, generative AI companies may retain, or have their programs learn from, confidential information that users put in.

How many more judges will follow suit? It will be interesting to keep track.

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225, Fairfax, VA 22030
Email:  Phone: 703-359-0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com
https://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharondnelson
https://amazon.com/author/sharonnelson