In the Counsel's Chair

ITCC: Learned Hand founder Shlomo Klapper on AI's role in the judge's chambers

Los Angeles County Superior Court announced Wednesday that a select group of its judges will begin using AI tools to help prepare and manage cases — a first for the largest trial court in the nation. We sat down with Shlomo Klapper, the founder and CEO of Learned Hand and the man behind that initiative, to find out what it means for judges, lawyers and the justice system when AI enters the courtroom. A former clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and litigator at Quinn Emanuel, Klapper built Learned Hand around a simple argument: courts are under-resourced, backlogs are growing, and an incoming wave of AI-generated litigation is about to make things significantly worse. In this episode, he breaks down how the technology works, why tools built for lawyers don't translate to the bench, and what it will take to deliver on the promise of equal justice. We also get into the hard questions — how Learned Hand addresses concerns about algorithmic bias, what safeguards protect the confidentiality of case materials, and what the rise of AI means for the future of lawyering itself.

ITCC: Melanie Chaney on why LCW built its own chatbot (and the future of mid-size law)

Mid-size law firms are getting squeezed from both ends. Big law has the capital to invest in AI and the salaries to attract top talent. Boutiques can specialize tightly and move fast. So where does that leave everyone in the middle? Melanie Chaney, firm-wide managing partner of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, has a front-row seat to that question. LCW has grown from 45 attorneys to 120 over the past two decades, and Chaney — just a few months into her tenure leading the firm — is candid about the challenges that come with that position in the market: recruitment, AI costs, and figuring out how junior attorneys develop their skills when the tasks they used to learn on are being automated away. In this episode of In the Counsel's Chair, she makes the case that mid-size firms still have a real value proposition — but that a long track record is no excuse to stop innovating. About Melanie: Melanie L. Chaney [https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lcwlegal.com%2Fpeople%2Fmelanie-chaney%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cjack_needham%40dailyjournal.com%7C7264e5069b2441837eaf08de788f679f%7Cd7c644ef66db4e9482dafbcadfd8bc4e%7C0%7C0%7C639080754561085329%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=dVpxWhxGmdHClScEe2pE%2BhxXjkx8Tj%2FACubbHV%2FMM40%3D&reserved=0] is the Firm-wide Managing Partner of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, California’s leading education, public sector, nonprofit, and labor & employment law firm serving public agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofits. She brings decades of experience advising cities, school districts, and public safety departments on complex and high-stakes labor relations matters. Her practice includes collective bargaining under the MMBA and EERA, handling labor disputes before the California Public Employment Relations Board, and representing public entities in employment litigation in state and federal court. She also conducts workplace investigations, counsels agencies on personnel policies, and regularly provides training on labor and employment issues.

In the Counsel's Chair: Jason de Bretteville on the sanctions ruling that could be a game-changer

When Jason de Bretteville's client refused to take the easy off-ramp -- a dismissal that would have let everyone walk away quietly -- it set the stage for a sanctions ruling that may finally put teeth into a 30-year-old law. The court was blunt: widespread practice doesn't make a practice acceptable. Jason is a partner at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth LLP, Chair of the firm's Litigation Department and Co-Chair of its Enforcement Defense and Investigations Practice. In this episode of In the Counsel's Chair, he walks through the case that produced what may be the first-ever sanctions ruling against a plaintiff for filing a bare-bones placeholder complaint in a securities fraud class action -- and what it could mean for how the plaintiff's bar operates going forward. Jason also explains the structural reasons this practice has persisted for three decades despite the PSLRA, what it would take for defense lawyers to routinely push back, and how AI is shifting the calculus for smaller firms competing against larger ones. About Jason: Jason de Bretteville defends companies, financial institutions and executives in high-stakes civil and criminal litigation matters. When other legal teams see hurdles and complications or say it simply cannot be done, Jason finds the evidence and arguments that win. He is a tenacious litigator whose deep industry and regulatory experience, knowledge of the courts and ability to connect with judges and juries have earned him a reputation as a serious trial threat. Jason served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California from 2001 through 2006. As a prosecutor, he tried seven felony cases to verdict, investigated and prosecuted significant crimes of violence and fraud, supervised teams of federal agents engaged in the detection and prevention of terrorist activity, and briefed and argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Jason has secured favorable settlements and trial and appellate victories for clients facing civil and criminal allegations relating to securities fraud, white-collar crime and abuses of the False Claims Act and the FCP. He also has represented medical device companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, investment banks, technology companies, consumer goods manufacturers, oil and gas concerns, and other companies in a wide variety of complex business disputes. When he is not litigating, he helps his clients optimize their compliance programs and navigate pre-litigation securities matters to minimize potential liability.

In the Counsel's Chair: Yakub Hazzard on what it takes to represent top talent

When Yakub Hazzard's team discovered that opposing counsel had improperly kept a privileged memo in a high-stakes Motown royalties case, it became a turning point. "That was like the game changing moment in the litigation where it went from the plaintiff seeming to have a lot of momentum to them being completely on their heels." Now Chair of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, Yakub shares three cases from a long career that taught him essential lessons about entertainment litigation. From representing Berry Gordy and Motown in a dispute with legendary songwriting trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, to achieving one of the few published 9th Circuit decisions on copyright termination in a case involving the Ray Charles Foundation, these cases reveal what it takes to navigate high-stakes entertainment disputes. Yakub also explains his early career moves, what it takes to represent elite clients effectively, and his concerns about the future of the entertainment industry and attorneys given the rise of artificial intelligence. About Yakub: Yakub Hazzard is the Chair of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp and former Co-Chair of the Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Hazzard specializes in litigating high-profile matters involving intellectual property, right of publicity, privacy, breach of contract, profit participation, commercial disputes, and other media & entertainment-related conflicts across a wide range of industries. He has also handled employment litigation matters for clients.

In the Counsel's Chair: Vid Prabhakaran on leading through disruption (and killing the billable hour)

Vid Prabhakaran has a clear belief about AI in law: "We don't believe that AI is going to replace lawyers, but we do believe that lawyers who use AI in a sophisticated way are going to replace lawyers who don't." And when he hears partners argue that associates need drudgery work because it's foundational to their future success, he's blunt: "I think they're full of it." As partner-in-charge of Davis Wright Tremaine's San Francisco office, Vid is navigating three major shifts: AI's impact on legal billing models, political attacks on DEI, and California's climate leadership in the absence of federal direction. In this conversation, Vid explains how he's using AI to eliminate associate drudgery and refocus their work on strategic analysis—and why this shift will force law firms toward value-based pricing. He also shares how he's protecting inclusion programs amid political attacks, why his energy clients care more about regulatory certainty than climate politics, and what's at stake in California's climate disclosure battle. Plus: why data centers represent the energy industry's biggest wild card. About Vid: Vidhya Prabhakaran is a veteran energy lawyer and the San Francisco partner-in-charge at Davis Wright Tremaine. He helps clients navigate regulatory complexities as California transitions to economically viable greener power sources. Vid advocates for companies throughout the industry who envision an efficient and reliable energy marketplace and seek to successfully invest in the state’s energy future. He has particular expertise representing clients before the California Public Utilities Commission and helping them achieve successful outcomes when trying to work with or around the large investor-owned utilities. Vid has a long record of public service and commitment to social impact. Through constant mentoring and networking, he has helped sustain pipeline programs, boosted the ranks of diverse judges, and established pro bono partnerships with leading clients. His extensive list of honors includes the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association's "Best Under 40" award, South Asian Bar Association of Northern California's Mentorship Award, the Minority Bar Coalition's Unity Award, and the Pro Bono Leadership Award from Legal Services for Children. He has served as president of multiple organizations, including the Bar Association of San Francisco, the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California, the Yale Club of Northern California, and the California Conference of Public Utilities Counsel. He is the current president of the Energy Bar Association – Western Chapter.