How in-house counsel are increasingly turning to generative AI

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 12, 2025 | Law

Generative artificial intelligence has changed the practice and business of law in a short amount of time, and that’s especially been the case for in-house counsel.

According to an October report from the Association of Corporate Counsel, generative AI use among in-house lawyers has more than doubled over the last year. More than half of respondents are now actively using generative AI in their practice—compared to only 23% in 2024. The survey also said two-thirds of respondents are using it so that they can eventually rely less on outside counsel, and over 60% are likely to push for a change in how legal services are priced.

In other words, could this be the latest blow to the billable hour? It’s survived a lot of things over the years—recessions, pandemics, bubble bursts. Could generative AI be the one that finally kills it once and for all?

In this episode of the Legal Rebels Podcast, Jason L. Brown, the president and CEO of the Association of Corporate Counsel, talks to the ABA Journal’s Victor Li. Brown, who became the CEO on Nov. 1, speaks about how in-house lawyers are using generative AI and where things might be heading as far as the adoption and advancement of the technology.

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In This Podcast:

Jason L. Brown

Jason L. Brown is the president and CEO of the Association of Corporate Counsel, a global legal association that promotes the common professional and business interests of in-house counsel who work for corporations, associations and other organizations through information, education, networking and advocacy. Brown previously was an in-house counsel at Dyson Inc., MillerCoors and the Pepsi Beverages Co. He also was the executive director and general counsel for the National Association of Minority and Women-Owned Law Firms. Brown has a juris doctor degree from the Howard University School of Law. He also earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Howard University.

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Lawyer ends sexual harassment and retaliation suit against Polsinelli, 2 partners after claims allowed

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 11, 2025 | Law

Law Firms

Lawyer ends sexual harassment and retaliation suit against Polsinelli, 2 partners after claims allowed

By Debra Cassens Weiss

November 11, 2025, 9:20 am CST

The plaintiff and defendants in a sexual harassment lawsuit against Polsinelli recently filed a joint notice to dismiss the complaint. (Image from Shutterstock)

A former Polsinelli partner who claims the law firm fired her after she complained about sexual harassment has filed a joint notice with the defendants stating that she is dismissing her federal lawsuit with prejudice.

The plaintiff, international corporate attorney Julia I. Rix, had alleged in a September 2023 lawsuit that she was “repeatedly hounded” by the two male partners who wanted her to join them for after-hours drinks and hotel meetings.

The dismissal notice, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, does not indicate whether the dismissal is due to a settlement. The notice was filed following a federal judge’s September decision refusing to compel arbitration and refusing to toss sexual-harassment and emotional-distress claims.

Law360 reports that the dismissal notice was filed on the deadline for a response from the defendants. Besides Polsinelli, lawsuit defendants were Dov H. Scherzer and Gabriel Yomi Dabiri, the two partners Rix accused of harassment. They are no longer with Polsinelli.

The suit had alleged Scherzer and Dabiri used “bait-and-switch tactics,” claiming they wanted to meet to discuss case strategy or client development but instead using the meetings to sexually harass her. In one instance during a February meeting in New York City, Scherzer allegedly kissed Rix without her consent after she allowed him in her hotel room, according to the suit.

She lost her equity partner status after a negative review in October 2022, the suit said.

Lawyers for Rix, Polsinelli, Scherzer and Dabiri did not immediately respond to the ABA Journal’s request for comment.

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Citing ‘assault on the rule of law,’ federal judge appointed by Reagan resigns so he can speak out

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 10, 2025 | Law

Judiciary

Citing ‘assault on the rule of law,’ federal judge appointed by Reagan resigns so he can speak out

By Debra Cassens Weiss

November 10, 2025, 3:12 pm CST

Senior U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf of the District of Massachusetts has resigned from the bench, citing a Trump administration “assault on the rule of law” that compels him to speak out. (Photo by Martha Stewart, CC-BY-SA-4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

A federal judge appointed in 1985 by then-President Ronald Reagan has resigned from the bench, citing a Trump administration “assault on the rule of law” that compels him to speak out.

Writing at the Atlantic, Senior U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf of the District of Massachusetts said he can “no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom.”

“President Donald Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution and possible punishment,” Wolf wrote in the Nov. 9 article. “This is contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench. The White House’s assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me.”

Wolf said he hopes to join other former federal judges and ambassadors who are opposing government efforts to “undermine the principled, impartial administration of justice.” He finds nothing more important than joining them “and doing everything in my power to combat today’s existential threat to democracy and the rule of law,” he wrote.

Wolf said he joined the U.S. Department of Justice near the end of then-President Richard Nixon’s time in office as a special assistant to the deputy attorney general and later became a special assistant to then-U.S. Attorney General Edward Levi. He went on to become the chief federal prosecutor of public corruption in Massachusetts. As a federal judge, he oversaw the prosecution of two Boston mobsters, administering justice “without fear or favor,” he wrote.

Bloomberg Law’s coverage of the article described Wolf as “a notably outspoken senior judge” who testified before a U.S. Senate panel in 2023. He spoke about his concerns regarding the U.S. Judicial Conference’s handling of ethics complaints against U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas over financial disclosures.

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Did alleged sham hiring by SCOTUSblog founder Goldstein constitute tax evasion? Judge will decide

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 10, 2025 | Law

Criminal Justice

Did alleged sham hiring by SCOTUSblog founder Goldstein constitute tax evasion? Judge will decide

By Debra Cassens Weiss

November 10, 2025, 12:29 pm CST

Indicted SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein can’t sell his home to pay his defense attorneys, a federal judge ruled last week as she denied six of his pretrial motions in the tax evasion case against him. (Photo by Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)

But U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby of the District of Maryland didn’t immediately rule on Goldstein’s motion to dismiss tax evasion charges related to four women he hired at his law firm alleged to have done little or no work. The government alleges that payments to the women, with whom Goldstein pursued romantic relationships, should have been treated as distributions to Goldstein for which he owed taxes.

Bloomberg Law and Law360 covered the Nov. 6 hearing in which Griggsby ruled from the bench. She chronicled her decisions in an order issued the same day.

Goldstein is a former U.S. Supreme Court litigator and a high-stakes poker player. He is accused of hiding millions of dollars in income and cryptocurrency transactions on tax returns. He is also accused of using his boutique firm, Goldstein & Russell, to help cover his debts and of making false statements to mortgage lenders.

He is charged with tax evasion, aiding and assisting the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns, willful failure to pay taxes, and making false statements on mortgage loan applications.

During the hearing, lawyers for Goldstein argued that he can’t be charged with five counts of willful failure to pay taxes because he paid all the money that he owed, along with penalties and interest after agreeing to a payment plan, according to Law360. But Griggsby said the law is clear that taxpayers can be charged for failing to pay taxes, even when the amount due is eventually settled. And a jury must decide whether failure to pay taxes is willful, she said.

Regarding the allegedly sham employees, Griggsby indicated that she is inclined to rule for Goldstein but said she would wait for additional briefing from the government before deciding, Bloomberg Law reports.

Goldstein said three of the women performed some work for his firm, and the fourth went on medical leave soon after her hiring. Griggsby indicated that she had some concerns that the tax evasion statute as applied to the employment arrangement was impermissibly vague.

Ruling on the home sale, Griggsby said the home that Goldstein owns with his wife is collateral to secure his appearance and could be subject to forfeiture if it is a tainted asset, Bloomberg Law reports. Prosecutors have claimed that Goldstein could sell a $100,000 watch to pay his lawyers, Law360 says.

Goldstein had sought to substitute South Carolina properties owned by his family.

Why did SCOTUSblog founder Goldstein bring nearly $1M in cash into US? Explanation won’t be suppressed

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Clio completes B acquisition of vLex and announces B company valuation

Clio completes $1B acquisition of vLex and announces $5B company valuation

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 10, 2025 | Law

Practice Technology

Clio completes $1B acquisition of vLex and announces $5B company valuation

By Amanda Robert

November 10, 2025, 11:04 am CST

Jack Newton, the CEO and founder of Clio, a legal technology company, speaks in October 2024 at the 2024 Clio Cloud Conference in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Victor Li)

Legal technology leader Clio announced Monday that it completed its $1 billion acquisition of vLex, a legal intelligence and global research platform that includes Vincent AI.

Clio, a cloud-based practice management software company, also announced Monday that it is now valued at $5 billion after raising $500 million in a Series G funding round led by New Enterprise Associates and other partners.

“This is a defining moment for Clio and for the legal industry,” Jack Newton, the CEO and co-founder of Clio, said in a statement. “We founded Clio to transform the legal experience for all, and this milestone brings that mission to a new horizon.”

“With vLex now part of Clio, and 350-plus experts in law, data and technology joining our team, we are combining the best minds and the best tools to build the world’s most powerful legal intelligence platform, a platform that will define how legal work is done for generations to come,” he added.

Clio’s legal operating system and vLex’s Vincent AI will form the Intelligent Legal Work Platform, which will connect “the business and practice of law through AI that understands both the mechanics and substance of legal work,” Clio says. The platform combines practice management, research, drafting and firm operations, and spans the full lifecycle of legal work.

With the acquisition of vLex, Clio, which is also an advertiser with the ABA Journal, is also expanding its reach from small and midsize firms to the largest legal organizations, the company says. Earlier this year, Clio acquired U.K.-based artificial intelligence platform ShareDo, which specializes in large law firms. It also acquired document automation software Lawyaw.

“Clio continues to demonstrate the clarity, execution, and ambition that define enduring market leaders,” Tony Florence, the co-CEO at New Enterprise Associates, said in a statement. “The company has built one of the most trusted platforms in legal technology, and its integration of AI is reshaping how work is done across the profession.”

Clio is currently used by hundreds of thousands of legal professionals in more than 130 countries and approved by more than 100 bar associations and law societies worldwide, the company says.

Hoping to mark huge leap into legal tech’s future, Clio buys startup vLex for $1B

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Cozen O’Connor adds 50-plus lawyers through merger in market that is ‘a bit of the best kept secret’

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 6, 2025 | Law

Law Firms

Cozen O’Connor adds 50-plus lawyers through merger in market that is ‘a bit of the best kept secret’

By Debra Cassens Weiss

November 6, 2025, 2:25 pm CST

Cozen O’Connor will add more than 50 lawyers after a Jan. 1 merger with Minneapolis law firm Moss & Barnett. (Image from Shutterstock)

Cozen O’Connor will add more than 50 lawyers after a Jan. 1 merger with Minneapolis law firm Moss & Barnett.

The merger will enhance Cozen O’Connor’s services in the Midwest, “particularly across its regulatory, transactional and financial practice areas,” according to a Nov. 3 press release.

The region is “strategically important” for the firm and its clients, said Michael J. Heller, the chairman and CEO of Cozen O’Connor, in the press release.

Heller told Law.com in an interview that Minneapolis is “a really unique and diverse business market” with a high concentration of Fortune 500 companies.

“And, frankly, the people are just really nice,” Heller said. “From a cultural perspective, when you combine that with the business opportunity, it’s just a great legal market—to some extent, it’s a bit of the best kept secret.”

Cozen O’Connor will have more than 1,000 lawyers across 33 offices after the merger, including more than 70 lawyers in Minneapolis and more than 50 in Chicago.

Cozen O’Connor will relocate its current Minneapolis operations to existing offices at Moss & Barnett. It will become Cozen O’Connor’s largest office outside Philadelphia, New York City and Washington, D.C.

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