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20 March 2026
Issue: 8154 / Categories: Legal News , Artificial intelligence , Privilege , Technology
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NLJ this week: AI privilege battles expose risks

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Courts are beginning to grapple with whether AI-generated material is legally privileged—and the answers are mixed. In this week's issue of NLJ, Stacie Bourton, Tom Whittaker & Beata Kolodziej of Burges Salmon examine US rulings showing how easily privilege can be lost

In one case, documents created using an AI tool were not protected because there was ‘no reasonable expectation of confidentiality’; in another, protection survived as disclosure was not to an adversary.

The analysis underscores a key risk: using public AI tools may amount to publishing information ‘to all the world’.

English courts are likely to take a similarly fact-specific approach, focusing on privacy expectations and tool settings. The warning is blunt—AI is ‘different’, and without careful governance, organisations may inadvertently waive privilege.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Kevin Joynes & Neil Gosling

Clarke Willmott—Kevin Joynes & Neil Gosling

Clarke Willmott bolsters housebuilder expertise in Birmingham

Carpmaels & Ransford—Kevin Cordina

Carpmaels & Ransford—Kevin Cordina

Firm adds former Simmons Simmons patent head to engineering and tech team

ACTAPS—Sally Goodger

ACTAPS—Sally Goodger

Freeths strengthens its voice in national disputes with ACTAPS committee appointment

NEWS
Some employment law controversies never disappear—they merely lie dormant
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming legal practice, but its successful adoption depends as much on culture as technology
The fallout from Lord Mandelson’s appointment and dismissal as UK ambassador to Washington raises profound questions about constitutional governance, accountability and political appointments
Pastries may be in the firing line while kebabs escape scrutiny, but the reality is far more nuanced
The Supreme Court’s decision in Dillon highlights a central tension in modern public law: rights may be recognised without being fully realised
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