July featured many strong posts from legal tech experts, so I’ve decided to share some of the most interesting pieces I read last month.
The AI Protective Order Double Standard
We will begin with an informative post from Craig Ball on his Ball in Your Court blog. He dissects two opinions both released on June 15, 2026 in the Southern District of New York that relate to whether using certain LLM AI’s could waive client confidentiality. In The AI Protective Order Double Standard Craig explains in clear and understandable language some of the problems with some of the court’s analysis
One of the court’s opinions disapproved of uploading any confidential client material to any AI tool unless the platform is “enterprise-grade.” Craig’s blog focuses on ediscovery and computer forensics. Earlier in his career he spent many years as a trial lawyer. So he appreciates the practical side of lawsuits.
He responded to the enterprise grade requirement in his post:
“Enterprise-grade?!? It’s not clear what that means nor is it settled in law; but the notion is gaining traction in CLE panels and proposed orders: the assumption that only expensive, purpose-built legal AI platforms can satisfy requirements that every major consumer AI platform already satisfies. That assumption is wrong on the technology, wrong on the contracts, and wrong on the policy.”
Craig makes his opinions clear! Whether and how using AI impacts privilege is something lawyers need to know. Judges will benefit from reading this post too.
45 days in jail for submitting fake AI-altered evidence in court
Oliver Roberts posted on LinkedIn about a party who was sentenced to 45 days in jail for criminal contempt of court after she used AI to create the image of a prescription bottle to prove that she had gotten medical care for a child. Of course, the pharmacy had no matching records. The sentence was upheld by the Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals. The opinion is attached to the post 45 days in jail for submitting fake AI-altered evidence in court.
Lawyers’ Use of AI Notetakers and Client Conversations: Ethics Rules, Risks, and Best Practices (2026 Update)
Many readers are familiar with Carolyn Elefant, who has been dispensing law office management and technology advice via her My Shingle blog for many years.
AI Notetakers are powerful and useful tools. It is easy for the most focused lawyer to become distracted or otherwise check-out during a lengthy Zoom meeting. And, of course, there can be a slight embarrassment we feel with the fact that the notetaker takes much better notes than we do. A major concern with notetakers is the confidentiality issue and for many meetings, consent will be required. Carolyn has just updated this guide in July adding a new NYC ethics opinion. The Best Practices and a sample clause for AI consent are a few of the very helpful inclusions in Lawyers’ Use of AI Notetakers and Client Conversations: Ethics Rules, Risks, and Best Practices (2026 Update).
AI Note-Takers for Lawyers: The Recording Risk You Need to Fully Understand
Ernest Svenson also wrote about notetakers in AI Note-Takers for Lawyers: The Recording Risk You Need to Fully Understand in his 80/20 Principle column in AttorneyAtWork. Like any good lawyer, he informs us of several types of risks we might not have fully appreciated. He ends with several “habits” to protect yourself when using AI notetakers.
Stop Using Your Inbox as a Reading List
Catherine Reach, Director of the North Carolina Bar Association Center for Practice Management posted Stop Using Your Inbox as a Reading List.
If your first thought, like mine, was “Well, how else would I use it?” then you probably need to read Catherine’s post.
We are all using our email inboxes for too many things. As Catherine notes:
“When newsletters, alerts, blog posts, court opinion summaries, legal publications, and marketing emails all arrive in the same place as client communications, court notices, filings, and internal firm messages, everything competes for your attention. The messages you intend to read “someday” usually lose.
“Instead of using email as your news reader, consider moving informational content into a tool designed for that purpose.”
If you are not using a newsfeed reader, maybe it is time.
How I Collaborated with AI to Draft a CLE Handout
How I Collaborated with AI to Draft a CLE Handout is from Attorney and Consultant Jennifer Ellis. I suspect that by now many lawyers have used AI assistance drafting their CLE presentation “handouts.” I still like to draft my own papers, but I have certainly dumped a few of my awkward paragraphs into Copilot from time to time and appreciated the assistance. But Jennifer creates quite a few CLE papers and the methodology she shares impressive. If you have never created an AI Skill before, here’s why and how to do it. The real lesson here is how important designing the process is when using AI in your workflow.
50 Public Speaking Tips Every Young Lawyer Should Learn
I’ll close with 50 Public Speaking Tips Every Young Lawyer Should Learn, by Frank Ramos posted on Above The Law on July 30th. He begins:
“Lawyers speak for a living. Whether addressing a judge, questioning a witness, negotiating with opposing counsel, presenting at a CLE, speaking to a client, or giving a keynote address, your ability to communicate verbally often determines your effectiveness more than your legal knowledge.”
These are really nice and well organized tips. Some lawyers do more public speaking than others, but almost all lawyers have verbal communications as an important part of their day.