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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

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TOP OF THE HEAP - Stanford Law School is getting a new dean. Karen Sloan reports that Jenny Martinez, an international law and constitutional law scholar who is Hispanic, will join the growing number of women—and particularly minority women—occupying the dean suites in law campuses across the country. Women now make up about a third of deans at ABA-accredited law schools. An expert on the impact of courts on human rights, Martinez on April 1 succeeds Elizabeth Magill, who is leaving to become provost of the University of Virginia.

MIND GAMES - Microsoft has put the final touches on the artificial intelligence for a new legal aid tool to help address access to justice problems. Frank Ready reportsthat a post on the tech giant's blog indicates it has wrapped up work on the AI that will serve as the brainpower for the tool, named Legal Navigator, developed in partnership with the Legal Services Corp., Pro Bono Net, Pew Charitable Trusts and Avanade. Legal Navigator won't offer advice—so don't abandon your career just yet—but it is designed to walk users step-by-step through legal processes, such as executing a divorce.

ON APPEAL? The DOJ is considering whether it will try to block, through an appeal to SCOTUS, benefits for as many as 52,000 “blue water” Navy veterans who claim they were exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Major law firms, including Paul Hastings; Hogan Lovells; and DLA Piper have filed amicus briefs supporting blue water veterans. Marcia Coyle reports that the DOJ has asked the Federal Circuit to put on hold its ruling in favor of the veterans pending the government's decision to ask the Supreme Court to review it. The government has argued the Agent Orange Act applies only to the geographic landmass of Vietnam.