On April 20, 2026—just four days before the original compliance deadline—the Department of Justice published an interim final rule pushing back its web and mobile app accessibility deadlines by a year. The interim final rule took effect immediately. The extension is welcome, but the Department made clear it “fully anticipates implementing the regulation at the new deadline,” and existing ADA obligations continue to apply in the meantime.
First Impression: Attorney-Client Privilege and AI Use
By Courtney L. Baird and Ryan S. Crawford
In an issue of first impression, a federal court held that information a defendant input to a consumer generative AI system on his own initiative is not protected by the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine. That holding extended to documents the defendant generated using AI and later shared with counsel.
Privacy, Privilege and Ethical Pitfalls of AI Transcription Tools
By Sharon Caffrey and Seth H. Dawicki
Duane Morris Partner Sharon L. Caffrey and Associate Seth H. Dawicki co-authored the article “AI Transcription Tools: Privacy, Privilege and Ethical Pitfalls” for Law.com. Sharon and Seth discuss the privacy and ethical pitfalls of the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence transcription tools.
Read a reprinted version of the article on the Duane Morris LLP website.
Patent Prosecution and Artificial Intelligence – Part 1
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how patent attorneys approach prosecution work. From prior art searches to claim drafting, AI tools promise efficiency gains that were unimaginable a decade ago. But with these promises come legitimate questions about reliability, risk, and the boundaries of responsible use.
This five-part blog series examines AI’s role in patent prosecution through multiple lenses. Rather than offering a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down verdict, we explore the mainstream consensus, the contrarian arguments, and the evidence that would settle the debate. Whether you’re an AI enthusiast or a skeptic, this AI-Assisted series will give you a framework for thinking critically about these tools. Read the full series.
California Vetoes Automation Legislation
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has historically vetoed legislation surrounding automation. However, as he sets his sights on the White House, Newsom has been slow to set new regulations surrounding artificial intelligence while facing mounting pressure from the state’s unions. Duane Morris Partner Alex Karasik discussed the legal risks California employers should keep in mind when implementing the new technology.
Read the full article in International Employment Lawyer.
Webinar: Website Accessibility & Legal Risk
Website accessibility is no longer a technical or marketing issue—it is an enterprise risk with growing regulatory and litigation exposure. Federal investigations and private lawsuits are increasing and becoming more costly, and post-hoc remediation is rarely a defensible position.
Join Colin Knisely, partner at Duane Morris LLP, on March 11 at noon (ET) for an executive-level briefing on the May 11, 2026, HHS Section 504 compliance deadline. This session will examine how accessibility risk materializes in enforcement actions, investigations, and oversight inquiries, and what boards and senior leaders should expect. Attendees will gain practical insight into governance structures, documentation, and cross-functional accountability measures that leadership should be implementing now to mitigate risk, demonstrate good-faith compliance, and fulfill fiduciary oversight responsibilities. REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR.
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Who Qualifies as a “Consumer” Under the Video Privacy Protection Act
By J. Colin Knisely and Michael S. Zullo
On January 26, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Salazar v. Paramount Global to resolve a growing circuit split over who qualifies as a “consumer” under the Video Privacy Protection Act. The petition asks whether the VPPA protects individuals who subscribe only to nonaudiovisual content—such as a free newsletter—from a company that also offers video programming.
Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.
USPTO Signals Strong Support for Patent Eligibility in Cutting-Edge Technologies
The USPTO’s new director has singled out AI, distributed ledger technologies and diagnostics as prime areas of innovation that merit patent protection. Companies, investors and other stakeholders are closely watching how the USPTO’s active guidance may better align patent practice with the ingenuity and societal benefits these technologies represent.
Digitial Infrastructure: A New Frontier and Watt to Know About It
Last week, Duane Morris kicked off a new multipart webinar series—What’s Watt— taking a deep dive into the critical relationship between energy and modern data centers and highlighting the trends and technologies reshaping digital infrastructure. The series launched with a state-of-the-market discussion with DigitalBridge’s Jeff Ginsberg and Duane Morris’ Robert Montejo, moderated by Brad Molotsky. The panel offered insights on the industry’s key trends.
Here’s Watt you missed:
1. Power Is Key
Watt’s Old: Smaller-scale developments with traditional grid access.
Watt’s New: A mix of utility power, onsite generation, and creative energy strategies to meet a much greater demand.
AI’s explosive growth is reshaping the energy landscape, driving an unprecedented need for reliable, large-scale power. Training and operating advanced AI models requires massive compute clusters that draw far more electricity than traditional cloud workloads, pushing data centers into power ranges once associated with heavy industry. As organizations race to deploy AI capabilities, the demand for high-density facilities, fast interconnection, and resilient energy infrastructure is outpacing what many utilities can deliver on typical timelines. This surge is forcing developers, operators, and policymakers to rethink how and where digital infrastructure is built—prioritizing power availability, alternative generation sources, and innovative grid partnerships to keep pace with AI’s accelerating requirement.
2. Infrastructure Is Expensive
Watt’s Old: Traditional loan structures with shorter maturities.
Watt’s New: Large-scale, multilayered financing with longer terms and institutional investors capable of absorbing significant risk.
The next wave of data center development—driven by AI-scale power and capacity requirements—will require hundreds of billions of dollars in capital. Whether this growth ultimately forms a bubble remains unclear, but its scale is already reshaping credit markets and stretching the capacity of conventional lenders. As banks reach concentration limits and face regulatory constraints, developers increasingly rely on institutional investors, sovereign funds, infrastructure platforms, and hyperscalers with trillion-dollar balance sheets to support long-duration projects. These deals frequently involve complex capital stacks, special purpose vehicles, and financing horizons of 15–25 years to match the lifecycle of large campuses and energy assets.
3. Focus on Execution
Watt’s Old: Out of sight, out of mind.
Watt’s New: Plan deliberately and anticipate environmental, regulatory, and community challenges.
Ambitious AI-driven demand has raised the stakes for planning and execution in large-scale data center and energy projects. Power generation—whether grid-supplied or onsite—introduces thermal loads, water requirements, land-use impacts, and transmission needs that must be addressed early to keep projects viable. In many regions, particularly in the Western U.S., water constraints, aquifer depletion concerns, and limited cooling alternatives can quickly challenge site feasibility. Local infrastructure pressures, such as noise, construction logistics, easements, and grid constraints, often converge with environmental and community concerns, creating conditions ripe for pushback or organized resistance. Effective execution now means proactive engagement, rigorous resource planning, and transparent mitigation strategies to avoid delays and ensure that projects scale responsibly amid real and growing demand for AI infrastructure.
Find a recording of the full-length discussion here.
Watt’s Next: Our webinar series continues with What’s Watt: Nuclear Power and the Future of Data Center Construction
Class Action Litigation Landscape for Gen AI
This year has been a busy one in the generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) class action litigation landscape. New pleadings were filed, including several new class actions, several consolidated and amended complaints, and one appeal. Several key decisions were issued, including a trio that formed a three-way split of authority on how to determine whether training a gen AI model on copyrighted materials constitutes “fair use” under the Copyright Act. Additionally, one humongous settlement was reached.
Read the full article by Justin Donoho.