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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

ROBOTICS OF LAW - As Law.com's Alaina Lancaster writes in this week's Barometer newsletter, judges and lawyers are seriously considering which aspects of litigation and adjudication can be effectively handed down to generative AI. But if you're picturing the machine from Willy Wonka spitting out legal advice and court rulings instead of the precise location of the three remaining golden tickets, you may be disappointed (I know I am). For now, generative AI might be more readily adopted in the research phase of litigation after thorough fact-checking, rather than in legal writing and decision making. For instance, some legal professionals are considering whether expert witnesses can reliably and credibly use AI tools in litigation and arbitration. But most observers agree there's no replacement for human intelligence when it comes to making judgments and providing advice. At ALM's Legalweek conference last week, Baker McKenzie's Danielle Benecke said the onus is on the industry to figure out how generative AI "affects our ability to deliver the ultimate value here, which is helping clients make good decisions." To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.

LOWER MANHATTAN - New York firms took a tumble in 2022, with many showing double-digit drops in revenue and PEP. As Law.com's Patrick Smith reports, a lack of capital markets work and transactions was the main driver. "In New York City, firms benefited from the financial markets," said Alisa Levin, principal at New York-based legal recruiting firm Greene-Levin-Snyder Legal Search Group. "And when the financial markets go in the other direction, they're going to be hurt." Janet Stanton, longtime legal consultant and partner and co-founder of Adam Smith, Esq., had a similar assessment. "Those firms are dependent on the financial sector," she said. "We all know that. It's not like they did anything wrong."

NEW ON THE RADAR -  In a major expansion, Law.com Radar has added new suit updates from key courts across nine new states, providing visibility into significant litigation arenas that are often challenging to monitor. The March release includes more than 100 courts in New York, New Jersey, California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland and Texas. Additional state courts will be introduced at a fast pace over the coming weeks and months. The expansion "provides lawyers with exclusive practice intelligence from hard-to-find sources within the disparate state court systems, while at the same time allowing ALM to provide our readers with more articles on trending litigation topics," said Brian Harris, director of ALM's State Courts Editorial Program.

EDITOR'S PICKS