By Jennifer L. Villier, JD

Newly available generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools have the potential to dramatically ease some of the more tedious and time-consuming aspects of practicing law. However, these tools can also cause trouble for the lawyers who use them. How will AI and the law co-evolve? It is a question that members of the legal profession are now grappling with as federal and state courts and state bars around the country (indeed, around the globe) race to formulate rules and guidelines for using AI in the practice of law.

Developments: On Friday, March 1, 2024, in National Small Bus. United v. Yellen, Judge Liles C. Burke of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled via memorandum opinion that the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)¹ , enacted in 2021, is unconstitutional because Congress lacks the authority to require companies to disclose personal stakeholder information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the criminal enforcement arm of the US Department of the Treasury. The National Small Business Association (NSBA), an Ohio nonprofit organization representing more than 65,000 businesses from all 50 states, and Issac Winkles, an NSBA member and owner of two small businesses, brought suit against the US Department of the Treasury and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, alleging that the mandatory disclosure requirements imposed by the CTA exceeded Congress’s authority under Article I of the US Constitution and violated the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments.   

By Mary E. Vandenack, JD, ACTEC, COLPM®, CAP®, Accredited Estate Planner® (Distinguished) Nominee

Artificial intelligence (AI) is generally defined as “the capacity of computers or other machines to exhibit or simulate intelligent behaviour; the field of study concerned with this.” While artificial intelligence has recently been in the forefront of the media due to the rapid evolution of new applications and use of the technology, the concept has been around for a long time.