KeaneAdvisors.AI Legal AI Weekly Brief
What changed
Third Circuit: copyright limits for AI training data. On September 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw headnotes were copyrightable and that Ross Intelligence’s use of them to build a competing legal research tool was not fair use. The ruling focused on these headnotes and this competitive use; it does not decide whether all AI training on copyrighted material is unlawful.
Florida Fourth DCA: scrutiny beyond fake citations. A September 16 order in Lisandrillo v. Palozzi criticized filings as lengthy, unfocused, and sometimes incoherent, while expressly saying the cited cases were real. It ordered attorney Jaclyn Soroka to explain why sanctions should not issue and required her response to be prepared without AI. Reuters reported September 30 that Soroka had filed an 84-page response; the court’s sanctions decision was still pending.
Why it matters to small and midsize law firms
Vendor diligence now includes content rights. The Third Circuit decision makes training-data provenance and licensing relevant questions when evaluating legal research and AI vendors. Its holding is narrow, but it raises a practical procurement and contract issue.
Citation checking is only one review step. The Florida court emphasized independent judgment, useful analysis, readable filings, and the lawyer’s responsibility for signed work. It also raised questions about competence, frivolous filings, delay, candor, and billing.
A written AI policy alone is not a control. Firms need a review process that shows who checked the work and whether it meets the client’s needs and court requirements.
What to read or act on
Read the Third Circuit opinion in Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence. For vendor reviews, ask how the provider obtains training and retrieval content, what licenses apply, and what contractual assurances it offers.
Read the Florida Fourth DCA opinion in Lisandrillo v. Palozzi. Update filing review checklists to cover legal accuracy, analysis, factual fit, clarity, proportionality, and billing—not citations alone.o
For any AI-assisted filing, keep a human reviewer accountable for the final document and promptly correct and disclose material errors.
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