A narrow AI privilege ruling in a criminal fraud case by Judge Jed S. Rakoff in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has broader implications, including for complex civil matters.
Given the decision’s underpinnings of personhood and confidentiality, practitioners and their clients should exercise the utmost caution in protecting privileged communications, and continue to use AI judiciously.
AI Is a Privilege-Breaking ‘Third Party’
In the case, United States v. Heppner, defendant Bradley Heppner’s chats with AI bot Claude about his case failed all three attorney-client prongs, which require:
- A communication between an attorney ...
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