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On July 29, 2024, the American Bar Association (ABA) issued Formal Opinion 512 regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence tools.

The 15-page opinion addressed the use of generative artificial intelligence in the practice of law, focusing on the specific rules pertaining to confidentiality, communications, legal fees, competence, and other related rules.
What Is GAI?
First, it is important to know what generative artificial intelligence is, to understand the context of the ABA opinion.

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has…
Continue Reading ABA Issues Formal Opinion on Use of Generative AI

Generative AI still cannot consistently or reliably create content without substantial inaccuracies, racial and gendered biases, or outright fabrications.
In our previous Generative Artificial Intelligence 101 blog post, we defined Generative AI and its many benefits. This time we will discuss why we cannot rely on Generative AI completely, just yet.

While Generative AI is leaps and bounds more advanced than any other type of machine learning program that has ever existed, the current models are still plagued…
Continue Reading Generative Artificial Intelligence 101: Evaluating the Consistency and Reliability of Generative AI for Content Creation

On Friday, September 20th, the Wisconsin Law Review and the State Democracy Research Initiative will bring together legal scholars to discuss the future of American state election law and the challenges that may arise in the face of the upcoming federal elections.
When: Sep 20, 2024 08:45 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
For more information, including a registration link, visit the Wisconsin Law Review’s 2024 Symposium website. Each panel of the Symposium has been approved for 1.5…
Continue Reading WI Law Review Symposium on State Law & Federal Elections, Sept 20th

Here is the latest faculty scholarship appearing in the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Studies Research Papers series found on SSRN.

Against the backdrop of declining crime rates, gun violence and gun-related homicides have only risen over the last three years. Just as it historically has, the brunt of that violence has been borne by poor Black and brown communities. These communities…
Continue Reading Recent UW Law Faculty Scholarship

This week, the ABA released its first formal opinion covering the growing use of generative AI in the practice of law. To ensure clients are protected, the opinion mandates that lawyers using gen AI must “fully consider their applicable ethical obligations” including duties to provide competent legal representation, protect client information, communicate with clients, and charge reasonable fees.

Here are some excerpts from the opinion:

  • “To competently use a GAI tool in a client representation, lawyers need not become

…
Continue Reading Read It or Weep: ABA Issues Opinion on the Growing use of Generative AI in the Practice of Law

In recent months, web developers and SEO experts have noted significant changes in Google’s indexing practices, observing a shift towards more selective indexing of web content.  Two blog posts, one by Red Revolution and another by Vincent Schmalbach, highlight these shifts and their potential impact on content discovery.
Here’s what they observed:

  • Decreased Indexing Frequency: Web pages are being crawled less frequently than in previous years.  Red Revolution found that existing, high-quality content is crawled approximately 47% less

    • …
    Continue Reading Is Google Becoming More Selective? Implications for Content Discoverability

    Following up on our post last week on Tips on Detecting & Improving AI-generated Text, I discussed a new study that suggests one of the “tells” of AI-generated text is the use of excess, sophisticated-sounding words. Inc discusses that study in more detail, identifying these 7 Words That Suggest a Text Was Written With AI.

  • Delves
  • Showcasing
  • Underscores
  • Comprehensive
  • Crucial
  • Intricate
  • Pivotal
    • As suggested last week, you, the human author, can and should provide specific prompts and

    …
    Continue Reading Avoid These ‘7 Words That Suggest a Text Was Written With AI’

    a man speaking at a podiumHon. Jeh Charles Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and ABA Task Force for American Democracy co-chair, speaks on “The Threat to Democracy.”

    July 11, 2024 – A dozen speakers recently gave sobering presentations on the threat to democracy during a nonpartisan event from the American Bar Association’s Task Force for American Democracy, in partnership with the State Bar of Wisconsin.

    The program, called
    Wisconsin: Elections in the 21st Century (watch now) was held in-person July

    …
    Continue Reading American Bar Association Brings Democracy Listening Tour to Wisconsin

    The State Democracy Research Initiative and the Elections Research Center at UW-Madison invite you to join them for the “Year in Review: Democracy Litigation in SCOTUS and the States” on Thursday, July 11th from 3:00-4:15pm, with a reception to follow. The event will take place at the UW School of Education in the Wisconsin Idea Room, with the option to attend virtually. This panel is approved for 1.5 CLE credits.

    The panel will serve as a case law year…
    Continue Reading Free CLE Event: ‘Year in Review: Democracy Litigation in SCOTUS and the States’

    As generative AI tools become increasingly sophisticated and widely used, the ability to distinguish between AI-generated and human-written text has become a hot topic. While AI can be an incredibly powerful tool for writing and research, it’s important to understand its strengths, limitations, and potential “tells” that may indicate its use. Below are some tips for detecting AI-generated text and, more importantly, how to improve and personalize AI-assisted writing to make it truly your own.

    Last week’s Inside Higher …
    Continue Reading Tips on Detecting & Improving AI-generated Text

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    Vel phillipsA new statue honoring Vel Phillips, a pioneering figure in Wisconsin’s legal and political history, will be unveiled at the Wisconsin State Capitol on July 27, 2024, at 5 p.m. This monument marks a significant milestone as the first commemoration of a Black leader on the Capitol grounds.
    Vel Phillips, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1951, achieved many firsts in her career:

    • First Black woman to graduate from UW Law School
    • First woman and

    …
    Continue Reading Vel Phillips Statue to be Unveiled at Wisconsin State Capitol on July 27th

    The University of Wisconsin Law Library is excited to announce significant upgrades to the Habush, Habush & Rottier Reading Room, thanks to a generous donation from the firm. These renovations further enhance a space already recognized for its beauty – ELLE Decor named UW Law Library one of “The 50 Best Libraries In The United States,” largely due to the stunning Habush, Habush & Rottier Reading Room.
    Habush, Habush & Rottier Reading Room, UW Law LibraryKey improvements include:

  • Increased Seating Capacity: By removing several book stacks,

    • …
    Continue Reading UW Law Library Enhances Student Experience with Renovated Habush, Habush & Rottier Reading Room

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    Wisconsin is home to 12 tribal nations, each with its own unique history, culture, and government. As sovereign entities, these nations have the inherent right to create, enforce, and adjudicate laws to protect and enhance the well-being of tribal members within tribal territory. This authority is an intrinsic right that has been present since time immemorial.
    However, under the mainstream conception of American law, tribal governments are often overlooked. This narrow perspective fails to acknowledge the significant contributions of…
    Continue Reading Exploring and Teaching Indian & Tribal Law

    Here is the latest faculty scholarship appearing in the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Studies Research Papers series found on SSRN.

    Election-related litigation is soaring. Litigants regularly challenge every aspect of an election cycle, from who can vote to how votes are cast and counted to the certification of results. Courts…
    Continue Reading Recent UW Law Faculty Scholarship: Standing for Elections in State Courts; White-on-Black Crime: Revisiting the Convict Leasing Narrative; Function Versus Consequence in Restraint of Trade Analysis; and Judicial Biography of Australian Justice, Sir Gerard Brennan Book Review

    Here is the latest faculty scholarship appearing in the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Studies Research Papers series found on SSRN.

    Community supervision agencies and officers do not just supervise people on probation and parole. They also play a unique and privileged role at sentencing. In nearly every state, community supervision officers investigate and write the presentence report, which is often the judge’s…
    Continue Reading Recent UW Law Faculty Scholarship: Supervising Sentencing; Robust Electoral Competition: Rethinking Electoral Systems to Encourage Representative Outcomes; Independence Reconceived; Is the Constitution of 1787 a White Supremacist Document? Against Essentialism in Constitutional Interpretation; and May 30, 1787

    On April 12 and 13, the UW Law School Indigenous Law Students Association will host the Coming Together of Peoples Conference, the longest-running student-led Indigenous law conference.  It is open to both in-person attendance and virtual participation via Zoom.
    Registration Information: The conference is free and open to the public. Registration is now available. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are currently pending for Wisconsin and Minnesota.
    Conference Highlights:Coming Together of Peoples Poster image

    • Keynote Address: JoAnn Jones, a former Ho Chunk Judge and the tribe’s

    …
    Continue Reading UW Law Hosts Coming Together of Peoples Indigenous Law Conference on April 12-13