Jussie Smollett (photo by Chicago Police Department via Getty Images)
* You wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of Jussie Smollett right now — nor the shoes of his lawyers, according to Joel Cohen and Dale Degenshein. [Law and Crime]
* And in other celebrity legal news, the new documentary about Drake has triggered a slew of copyright claims and takedown notices. [All Rights Reserved]
Humans in the Loop: The People Powering Trusted Legal AI
As the use of artificial intelligence permeates legal practice, a critical question confronts every legal professional who uses these tools: Can I trust this?
* If you’ve been listening to the compelling new podcast from Wondery about the Dan Markel case, check out this interesting interview with host Matt Shaer. [Uproxx]
* Speaking of podcasts, I recently appeared on Miranda Warnings, the popular podcast by former New York State Bar Association president David Miranda, to talk about Biglaw, legal education, and more. [Miranda Warnings]
* And if you’ll be in Nashville tomorrow or Tuesday, please feel free to stop by either or both of the talks I’ll be giving at Vanderbilt — one on judicial celebrity, and one on the state of legal education. [Vanderbilt Federalist Society / Vanderbilt Law School Library]
Context Windows In Legal AI And Why Content Still Determines Quality
Legal teams ask a practical question. If large language models are so capable, why does legal AI still depend on curated content, and why does surfacing that content matter so much?
* If you’re a libertarian or otherwise concerned about excessive exercises of government power, you should be concerned about President Donald Trump’s invocation of emergency powers, as Ilya Somin explains. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]
* Will the Supreme Court ride to Trump’s rescue if and when his national emergency declaration winds up before SCOTUS? Brianne Gorod has her doubts. [Take Care]
* More excellent advice from expert courtroom lawyer David Berg — think of this as “The Trial Lawyer: What It Takes To Lose.” [YouTube]
David Lat is editor at large and founding editor of Above the Law, as well as the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at [email protected].