Wake Up Call: Lawyers Turn to ChatGPT Over Special AI Tools

Welcome to Bloomberg Law’s Wake Up Call, a daily rundown of the top news for lawyers, law firms, and in-house counsel.

• Two-thirds of senior in-house lawyers are using general-purpose AI tools like ChatGPT, but only 7–17% are using specialized legal AI platforms, according to an Axiom survey. This spells trouble for the industry, with unstructured use of generative AI raising concerns about limited functionality, poor workflow integration, and data risks. (Artificial Lawyer)
• Former New York Knicks All-Star Charles Oakley said Madison Square Garden and New York City first deputy mayor Randy Mastro, who is serving as one of the venue’s lawyers, should be sanctioned for making “false and baseless” statements about his ejection from the audience at a 2017 Knicks game. MSG filed its own sanctions motion against Oakley and his lawyers at Wigdor and Petrillo Klein & Boxer, accusing them of pushing a “false narrative” about Oakley’s ejection. (Reuters)
• Ten years after China’s mass crackdown on human rights lawyers, the space for legal professionals willing to challenge the government has drastically shrunk. Around 300 lawyers and legal aides were targeted in raids in 2015, with many detained, disappearing, or later imprisoned. Under Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party has tightened its grip on the legal system, compelling law firms to enforce party loyalty and punishing those who take on politically sensitive cases with threats, surveillance, and disbarment. (Le Monde)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Bryan Kotliar joined Morrison Foerster as a partner in its business restructuring and insolvency group in New York.
• Megan Arthur Schilling joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as a partner in its employee benefits and compensation practice in San Diego. She joins from Cooley.
• Rosemary Reilly joined Sidley Austin as a partner in its emerging companies and venture capital practice in Boston. She joins from WilmerHale.
• Rebecca Fike joined Reed Smith as a partner in its global regulatory enforcement group in Dallas. She joins from Vinson & Elkins.
• Michael Hutchings joined Holland & Knight as a partner in its corporate, mergers and acquisitions, and securities practice group in Seattle. He joins from DLA Piper.
• David Morris joined Foley & Lardner as a partner in its taxation practice group in Salt Lake City. He joins from Kirkland & Ellis.
• Peter Willsey joined Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton as a partner in its trademark, copyright, and advertising team in Washington. He joins from Brown Rudnick.
• Joao Magalhaes joined Eckert Seamans as a partner in its commercial litigation practice group in Princeton, N.J. He joins from Connell Foley.
• Kaha Kvachatadze joined Jackson Lewis as a principal in its immigration practice in White Plains, N.Y. He joins from Pfizer.
• Wayne Zell joined FisherBroyles as a partner in its corporate practice group in Washington.
• Michael Didiuk joined Katten Muchin Rosenman as a partner in its financial markets and funds department in New York. He joins from Schulte Roth + Zabel.
• Matthew Cohen joined Seyfarth Shaw as a partner in its corporate department in Atlanta. He joins from DLA Piper.