AI Law Center
AI technology is evolving at an exponential pace – and AI laws coming online in the U.S. and worldwide creating opportunity and risk. Our AI law center helps your business stay on top of the latest.
U.S. AI Law Tracker
Which states have AI laws in effect today? This tracker summarizes key AI laws that may impact your business.
Information updated monthly
*Excludes biometric and comprehensive privacy laws that may also impact AI regulation.
EU AI Act
The EU AI Act imposes obligations on providers, importers, distributors and deployers of AI systems.
Here’s what’s coming:
The Conversation
Tune in for key takeaways to help you navigate AI regulation globally and other market trends.
SB1047: Where From Here?
OCT 2024 | 1 HR WATCH
California Gov. Newsom Vetoes Controversial Frontier AI Bill as Non-Responsive to “Actual Risks”
SEP 2024 | 4 MIN READ
Updating Your M&A Playbook to Address Generative AI Risks
JUN 2024 | 3 MIN READ
Addressing Artificial Intelligence in Your Privacy Notice: 4 Recommendations for Companies to Consider
APR 2024 | 5 MIN READ
AI Washing: SEC Enforcement Actions Underscore the Need for Companies to Stick to the Facts on Artificial Intelligence
MAR 2024 | 6 MIN READ
Investor Relations and Generative AI: The Risks and How to Manage Them
DEC 2023 | 5 MIN READ
8 Intellectual Property and Commercial Questions to Ask Your Generative AI Tool Provider
AUG 2023 | 10 MIN READ
The EEOC on AI in Employment Decisions: What Companies Should Know and Do
MAY 2023 | 2 MIN READ
How We Can Help
On the Frontier of AI
At Orrick, we are at the forefront of providing comprehensive AI-related legal solutions. Recognized on a short list of “Standouts for AI Expertise” (American Lawyer 2024), our team of 350 lawyers globally has delivered transactional, litigation and regulatory advice to more than 500 clients in the past 12 months.
We act for emerging leaders across the AI tech stack – models, apps and infrastructure – as well as enterprises across all sectors that are transforming their businesses through AI. The volume of transactions we are supporting and our defense of the most closely watched cases enables us to offer unique insight into emerging market trends and forward-looking risk mitigation. Here’s how we are helping our clients develop and execute their AI strategies:
Getting Ready for AI Regulation, Globally
We advise the largest and most sophisticated AI users on adopting durable policies, compliance programs and governance. Our advice includes:
- Compliance with the EU AI Act and emerging U.S. state laws
- Developing responsible AI use policies and advising on AI oversight and governance structures
- Counseling on enterprise licensing terms for leading large language models
- Assisting with AI tool procurement, onboarding, and contract terms
Leading the AI Dealmaking Landscape
We play a leading role in the most significant AI transactions – having advised on $32.2 B in venture financings in 38 markets globally in 15 months and 55 M&A transactions in 17 markets globally in 15 months. Our notable achievements include:
- Advising on two of the top five AI exits of 2023: MosaicML’s sale to Databricks and CaseText’s sale to Thomson Reuters
- Representing SAP in its acquisition of Israel’s WalkMe, the largest cross-border AI deal announced in the first half of 2024, and Graphcore in its sale to SoftBank
- Facilitating 200 financings for AI companies and investors globally, including significant raises for Anthropic, Mistral AI and others – many of which we have counseled since inception
Through this work, we have developed a specialized M&A due diligence playbook for AI-related technologies and insights into the unique AI considerations in scaling venture-backed companies. We are also partnering with leading AI incubators and accelerators.
Managing Existential AI Risks
We assist our clients in managing AI-related risks by defending them in litigation and advising them regarding dataset acquisition and model development. We are defending cutting-edge issues for the world’s leading innovators. Ongoing matters include:
- Defending multiple class action copyright cases that will test the boundaries of fair use as it applies to model training
- Defending actions brought by The New York Times and other media organizations challenging next-generation search technology
- Defending a novel class action alleging bias in AI-driven talent tools
- Handling dozens of wiretap matters involving chatbots and session replay technology, providing defense and compliance counseling
- Counseling numerous clients regarding IP, privacy and other risk issues associated with dataset acquisition and model development
Licensing & Use of Generative Tools
Using an ML-based system to create text, code, art, video, or music raises a host of intellectual property and other legal issues. Our team advises regarding the terms of use for AI tools and identifies potential legal issues arising out of their use. Once you choose a tool, we help you define and manage the risks during implementation and help perfect your ownership rights in content created using AI tools and mitigate other legal risks.
Making AI Sustainable
We are the most active law firm globally in helping the tech community power data centers sustainably, having completed innovative PPAs in 14 countries with a total generating capacity of 3.8+ GW in 2023. We also have experience helping clients negotiate agreements for computing power with the leading data center hyperscalers.
Training In-House Teams on AI Issues and Solutions
We are partnering with many leading corporate legal departments as we all get up to speed on the AI learning curve together, including through a training curriculum and sharing knowledge of emerging AI legaltech solutions.
Track Other Legislation
Online Safety Resource Center
A guide to the online safety, privacy and harmful content state laws and global regulatory developments that may impact your business.