Legalweek NY 2025 focused on AI's transformative impacts, featuring keynotes, panels, and gatherings highlighting the future of law and technology. The recurring theme in events and discussions was AI, and it was evident that in the last 12 or so months much work has been done towards embedding AI and GenAI into legal technology products. However, we are not yet there. It will be interesting to see the developments in the coming 12 months. There will likely be some clear leaders and AI tools that deliver both efficiency and, hopefully, significant cost reductions. Of course, the use of AI brings substantial increased risk, particularly around security, regulatory compliance – such as privacy, cybersecurity and emerging AI laws, such as the EU’s AI Act 2024 – and the role of robust information governance and AI ‘is more critical’ as reinforced by Judge Allison Goddard in the Judges’ Panel.
Below are some of the highlights, including the keynotes and other events from Legalweek 2025.
🔎 Rachel Tobac Keynote: The New Frontier of Hacking
Rachel Tobac, renowned ethical hacker and CEO of SocialProof Security, provided a captivating keynote titled ‘The New Frontier of Hacking: How AI, Voice Cloning, and ChatGPT are Reshaping Cybersecurity.’ Tobac demonstrated how attackers use AI tools to impersonate individuals, manipulate trust, and bypass traditional security controls. She emphasised the urgency of strengthening behavioural security protocols and ensuring that all employees understand the psychological vectors of social engineering. Her message: ‘If you can be tricked into giving away data, your systems are only as strong as your weakest human link.’ This was underscored by the statistic that 68% of breaches involve the human element of security (Verizon DBIR 2024).
The three most significant changes this year in hacking methods are:
- Increase in text message attacks
- Increase in phone call attacks
- Increase in AI-leveraged in attacks
The session explained how easy it is to be targeted and hacked, including explaining specific scams just as targeting new employees and an eye-opening live demonstration hacking of the Editor in Chief of the ALM ( see Ms Toban hack journalist Donie O’Sullivan here. Watch how easy it was to hack this CNN reporter. Ms Tobac also provided useful tips on how to reduce risks, including steps you can take to delist yourself. Her key takeaways are:
1. Update Human Protocols
Be politely paranoid, 2 methods of communication verify people are who they say they are before taking action.
2. Tech Tools to Back People Up
Avoid password reuse, consider password manager, use MFA, back up your work.
This was a fabulous session!
🎤 Rob Lowe: The Art of Reinvention
Actor and author Rob Lowe inspired the Legalweek audience in his fireside chat and key note, "The Art of Reinvention: Turning Setbacks into Stepping Stones." Blending humour with personal storytelling, Lowe discussed how resilience, adaptability, and lifelong curiosity have helped him navigate decades of change.
Lowe drew on insights from his father (a practising attorney in Ohio) and his son (a law graduate who briefly practised but was concerned about the impact of AI on law and moved into finance), noting how the legal field has evolved. His mantra - 'work begets work’ and ‘say yes to everything’ - has kept him on-screen every year since 1999. His willingness to step outside traditional roles, including hosting a game show, led to experiences he now describes as ‘some of the best things I’ve ever done.’ While he seized opportunities, Lowe also explained that he walked away from The West Wing as he ultimately felt undervalued, revealing that even when it looks good from the outside, if you are not being respected, ‘you have to move on’.
He provided thoughtful commentary on the entertainment industry, stating that TV prestige began with The West Wing (which he still loved) and The Sopranos. With shrinking attention spans, he suggested that while there’s still room for a Christopher Nolan film, such releases will become more of a "Hermès experience"—exclusive and rare—while television remains the mainstream platform.
Lowe described AI, as being akin to the ‘Industrial Revolution on steroids’ and reflected on the writers' strike, ‘at this time, it wasn’t known what to ask for.’ He posed the central, ‘How do you make AI work?’ Yet, ever the optimist, Lowe concluded: ‘the optimist will win’.
Fans of Lowe can hear more on his podcast ‘Literally’, which he launched during COVID. He’s working on a third book and confirmed the development of St Elmo’s Fire 2 with a theme of ‘it’s never too late’.
🔒 Judges’ Panel: Decoding Ethics & Discovery in the Age of AI
The year’s Judges’ panel this year included the Hon. Willie Epps, Jr., Hon. Kimberly Priest Johnson (Ret.), Hon. Andrew Peck (Ret.), Hon. Allison Goddard, Hon. Jon Rukhsanah Sing. This session, ‘View from the Bench: Decoding the Ethics and Discovery Rules in the World of AI, Cybersecurity, and the Data Deluge’ covered challenges such as hyperlinks, relevancy redactions, translation requests, ESI Protocols and TAR, and Privilege. The panel uniquely tested AI responses in real time using LLMs and discussed the responses. The Judges underscored that courts expect competence in understanding how AI-generated data, hyperlinks/modern attachments (see further discussion in Lighthouse section below), and collaboration platforms impact discovery obligations.
AI-related risks highlighted included:
- Hallucinations – the use of fake cases without verification by the filing attorney. As seen in Mata v Avaianca and other cases, lawyers have cited non-existent cases due to unverified GenAI output. Note – the judges were referring here to the U.S, but it applies to the Australian experience as well.) This has resulted in sanctions of even worse, suspension from the Bar.
- Failure to follow standing orders, local rules, and decisions – At least 80 standing orders, local rules, or decisions that speak to Gen AI usage or any AI usage
- Ingestion and use of confidential and legally privileged materials in prompts and outputs raise potential waiver issues if shared beyond the ‘need-to-know’ group. This highlights the importance of labels, such as' Lawyer-Client Privilege, Confidential, Do Not Use with GenAI Tools’.
The importance and application of the rules of professional responsibility were highlighted and reinforced by the Judges:
- Competence (Model Rule 1.1)
- Confidentiality of Information (Model Rule 1.6)
- Supervision of Nonlawyer Assistance (Model Rule 5.3)
(Note similar rules of professional responsibility apply to legal practitioners in Australia under the Conduct Rules – Duty of Competence (rule 4), Duty of Confidentiality (rule 9)) and supervision of solicitors and all other employees (rule 37).
Judge Allison Goddard's key takeaway was that the role of ‘Information governance will be more critical’ with the increasing use of AI and increasing volumes of data. Additional tips included:
- Remember that technology will evolve; go back to the Civil Procedure and the Rules.
- Always seek a Rule 502(d) order
- Include in the ESI protocol a clause that enables the protocol to be modified
- Involve stakeholders as early as possible (Legal/eDiscovery, those responsible for the data/document, IT etc)
🚀 Lighthouse Thought Leadership Academy
Lighthouse delivered insightful and technically rich sessions including:
📚 Steering the Copilot Fleet
Led by experts John Collins, Executive Director and James Hart, Senior Director, this session unpacked Microsoft 365 Copilot deployments, including:
- Information Governance considerations and technical controls for Copilot covering how do you ensure the ‘right’ content is made available to Copilot; how do you retain, delete, identify, preserve, and collect content created by using Copilot? Does the content created by using Copilot carry increased or different risks compared with non-GenAI content?
- Purview controls for data lifecycle management and records management together with non-Purview-based policies
☁️ Cloud (Attachment) Atlas
Jamie Brown, Vice President and John Collins, Executive Director explored the nuances of cloud attachments:
- Clarified terms: hyperlinks, modern attachments, pointed links
- Rights and access complications
- Case law implications:
- In Re: Meta Pixel Healthcare Litigation
- In Re: Uber Technologies
- In Re: Insulin Pricing
- In Re: Stubhub Refund Litigation
Key Takeaways:
-
- Understand the technology (tools, licensing) and workflows
- Engage experts early and often
- Develop strategy early
- Communicate limitations clearly
- Evaluate the data landscape
- Accommodate regulatory differences
- Adapt to evolving tech and case law
🍷 Harlem Nights with Lighthouse at the Ziegfeld Ballroom
Lighthouse hosted a stunning evening event at the historic Ziegfeld Ballroom: Harlem Nights: A Celebration of Art & Soul to cap off the day. Guests enjoyed an exclusive dinner curated by Chef Marcus Samuelson, who also shared his move and decision to stay in the US post 9/11 and his ongoing activist work.
Lighthouse made a significant donation to Harlem Grown, and its founder, Tony Hillery, gave a heartfelt talk about what had led him to found Grown and the organisation’s mission to address the health and academic challenges facing public elementary school students in Harlem. Special thanks to the Lighthouse team for a memorable evening of connection and community.
🤝 BUiLT Events: Diversity, Equity, and Tech Justice
Two standout events hosted by Blacks United in Legal & Technology (BUiLT) brought powerful conversations to the fore:
1. Dr. Siobahn Grady and Paula Edgar discussed tech policy, ‘the digital divide’, the disproportionate impacts of emerging technologies on underrepresented communities, and ‘bridging the gap’. Dr Grady explained the problem and risks where AI is trained on biased data and noted the absence of national AI regulation in the U.S. The importance of STEM education as early as possible was also highlighted by Dr Grady and that ‘diversity of thought brings innovation’.
2. Justice Tanya R. Kennedy and Prof. April Dawson explored how AI is shaping the courts. Justice Kennedy discussed recent cases involving the use of AI by litigants with Professor Dawson, author of Artifical Intelligence and Academic Integrity and Associate Dean of Technology and Innovation at NCCU School of Law. Professor Dawson brings a unique perspective with an undergraudate degree in computer science and having been a computer programmer before attending law school.
💡Gen AI performance in live matters
The Coding Suggestions in Action panel with Everlaw brought together a panel of experts to discuss emerging GenAI workflows in the ediscovery process, performance metrics from active matters, and insights from successful case teams. You can read more here:
- White Paper: EverlawAI Assistant Deep Dive: Coding Suggestions Performance in Real-World Matters — provides an overview of Coding Suggestions and performance metrics from real-world legal matters.
- Case Study: Am Law 100 Firm Slashed Doc Review Time by Two-Thirds with GenAI — describes how a three-attorney team reviewed 126,000 documents in under 24 hours in a government investigation with Coding Suggestions.
🧠AI Innovation at DLA Piper
DLA Piper provided an opportunity to hear and see AI products in development transforming and reshaping the legal landscape across 4 areas - litigation, investigations, transactions and legal research. DLA Piper was named Financial Times' 2024 Innovative Lawyers in Technology for launching its Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics practice and a finalist for Law.com's 2024 Legalweek Leaders in Tech Award for Best Use of Artificial Intelligence. It was a great opportunity to hear from the AI and Data Analytics group chaired by Danny Tobey and head of the AI Innovation Team, Barclay Blair, and those leading the initiatives in the four areas who demonstrated the AI products and real-world application.
☕ Networking – brunches, lunches and Broadway
The week is filled with coffees, social events, and networking opportunities. Special thanks to James McGregory, Ethical eDiscovery, for all his work in organising the Commonwealth/International Brunch and Denise Backhouse, Littler, for ensuring there was a nonstop list of events to attend.
The week commenced with the Commonwealth/International Brunch—despite a Heathrow substation fire that meant some of the UK contingent missed the brunch, there was a full contingent with a strong showing from Australia. Thanks to the sponsors – EDT, Infinnium, Integreon, Merlin Search Technologies, S2Data, Orbital.global.
It was a pleasure to attend the Exterro and HaystackID luncheon to celebrate Vazantha ‘V’ Meyers (Haystack),the 2025 LegalWeek recipient of the Monica Bay Women of Legal Tech Award—a special thanks to Jenny Hamilton, Exterro's General Counsel. Another highlight was attending the 2nd Annual eDiscovery Charity Formal, benefiting Girls Who Code, in the stunning Prince George Ballroom.
Special thanks to Joey Seeber, Kevin Brzozowksi, and Level Legal for the Legal Roundtable, which brought together legal industry leaders and media representatives to discuss our views and observations on discussions at Legalweek NY 2025.
Special thanks to Jo Sherman, EDT for stepping in to assist with the International Brunch and for the cultural experiences on and off Broadway. This included attending the amazing experience of seeing Good Night and Good Luck, starring George Clooney – a thought-provoking and timely experience!
Concluding thoughts
Legalweek NY 2025 captured a moment of both transition and acceleration. Over the course of the week, it was clear that we are in the thick of AI’s integration into the legal sector. As product development matures and use cases become more sophisticated, it is hoped that the next 12 months will deliver legal AI tools that provide both efficiencies and cost savings balanced, of course, with heightened governance, security, legal and ethical compliance.
This year also marked the end of an era, as Legalweek prepares to move from its long-time Midtown home at the New York Hilton to the Javits Center in 2026. The shift reflects the accelerating convergence of law, technology, and AI, and the scale and scope these topics now demand. As the legal industry continues to evolve, Legalweek will undoubtedly remain a key stage for shaping that future.
We look forward to seeing where we are in another year—technologically, professionally, and collectively—as this journey into the AI-powered future of law continues to unfold.
Author: Dr Susan Bennett, Founder and Executive Director InfoGovANZ
ChatGPT was used in preparing this article
