Author: Bailey Glasser

Client Alert: “It Depends: A Comparison of Recent Rulings Regarding AI Use and Privilege” by Katherine Charonko and Elizabeth Stryker

Two federal courts have issued rulings regarding whether a party’s use of generative AI tools were protected by the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine. The answer is that “it depends.”

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About the Authors:

Katherine E. Charonko is Bailey Glasser’s Electronically Stored Information & Technology Practice Group Leader who she provides strategic guidance in some of the nation’s most complex and consequential litigation and is part of national trial teams in state and federal courts across the country. Ms. Charonko is nationally ranked in the Chambers USA, USA Nationwide-Product Liability: Plaintiffs category and was named a 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigator in America. She was also named a 2026 winner of the Legaltech / ALM 2026 Monica Bay Women of Legal Tech Award.

Elizabeth L. Stryker is a litigator and member of the firm’s ESI & Technology Practice Group. Ms. Stryker was named a 2025 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation as well as a Best Lawyers’ Ones to Watch, among other recognitions.

Two federal courts have issued rulings regarding whether a party’s use of generative AI tools were protected by the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine.The answer, as attorneys are all too familiar with, is that it depends.

In February 2026, two courts reached different conclusions, with one (in United States v. Heppner, 25 Cr. 503 (JSR), 2026 WL 436479 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 17, 2026)) finding that a defendant’s use of an AI tool was not privileged or protected, and another (in Warner v. Gilbarco, Case No. 2:24-cv-12333, 2026 WL 373043 (E.D. Mich. Feb. 10, 2026)) determining that a pro se litigant’s use of AI tools was protected by the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine.

In the Second Circuit, a client’s use of generative AI tools to seek legal advice without direction from his counsel is likely not protected by the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine. In Heppner, the court analyzed the attorney-client privilege in the context of the defendant’s use of AI tools to seek advice regarding a pending criminal investigation and found that the privilege did not apply for several reasons. The court opined that because the AI tool is not an attorney, then that alone disposed of his privilege claim. Heppner, 2026 WL 436479, at *2. Next, the Heppner court determined that the communications were not private and, therefore, not privileged. The court was persuaded by the AI platform’s privacy policy and found that the defendant had no reasonable expectation that his prompts to the AI tool would remain private. Id. at *3. Finally, the court examined the defendant’s actions and determined that he did not use the AI tool for the purpose of obtaining legal advice. Id.

Read more here.

BG Lawyers Named to 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers List

Ten Bailey Glasser lawyers were named to this year’s list.

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Bailey Glasser partners Brian A. Glasser, John W. Barrett, Katherine E. Charonko, Joshua I. Hammack, James L. Kauffman, Patricia Mulvoy Kipnis, Jonathan R. Marshall, D. Todd Mathews, Michael L. Murphy, and David L. Selby II were named to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list.

As Lawdragon stated in announcing the 2026 list:

This is the 8th edition of our guide to the lawyers who will fight for you when life delivers its harshest blows. They are the advocates who can win the medical care, insurance benefits and other compensation that can help to compensate for tragedy . . . .They and their fellow honorees inspire us, reminding us there are professionals who will fight for you when all seems lost. Who will take a stand against abuse, and seek changes that create a better future.

Learn more about their important work by following this link.

Partner Tad Duree Speaking About Litigation Funding on ABA CLE Webinar

This CLE is taking place on April 5, 2026, from 1-2 p.m. ET.

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Bailey Glasser litigator Tad Duree is presenting at an American Bar Association CLE entitled: “Third Party Litigation Funding: Opportunities, Risks, and Ethical Guardrails.” The program is taking place on Thursday, April 5, 2026, at 1 p.m. ET.

Program description: “The program will cover jurisdictional variations on champerty and fee-sharing rules, how traditional loans and contingent arrangements differ in practice, best practices for client notice and consent, confidentiality and privilege concerns, and when disclosure to courts or opposing parties may be required. Participants will leave with an understanding of concrete contract provisions, client communication templates, and a checklist for vetting funders and funding terms.”

To learn more and to register, visit this link.

BG Named Law360 “Legal Lion of the Week” for Appeal Led by Joshua Hammack

This case will have significant implications for how streaming services and other platforms handle user data, and will affect the privacy rights of millions of Americans consumers.

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Bailey & Glasser, LLP, has been named a Law360 “Legal Lion of the Week” for the appellate work spearheaded by partner Joshua I. Hammack. Last week, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Salazar v. Paramount Global, a hotly litigated case about the meaning of “consumer” under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).

As described by Law360:

Bailey & Glasser LLP roared after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider what criteria consumers must meet to sue under the federal Video Privacy Protection Act, accepting a challenge to a ruling that said a Paramount digital newsletter subscriber could not bring a lawsuit. The justices granted Michael Salazar’s petition for a writ of certiorari asking the high court to determine whether the VPPA applies to consumers who subscribe to nonaudiovisual content, such as a digital newsletter. In a proposed class action, Salazar, who subscribed to a digital newsletter from Paramount Global’s 24/7 Sports, alleged illegal sharing of subscribers’ personal information with Facebook. Salazar is represented by Joshua Hammack of Bailey & Glasser.

To read the full Law360 article visit this link.

Partner Joshua I. Hammack led the appellate team, with valuable assistance from Michael L. Murphy, Nicholas S. Johnson, Allison A. Bruff, and Hallie H. Arena, as well as paralegal support from Manny Rios. The matter will now proceed to merits briefing and argument before the Supreme Court.

The VPPA was enacted in 1988, shortly after a local D.C. video store disclosed the rental records of Judge Robert Bork—who was then under consideration for a seat on the Supreme Court—to a journalist. The law broadly prohibits a video tape service provider from knowingly disclosing a consumer’s personally identifiable information without first obtaining that consumer’s consent. As most relevant here, the VPPA defines “consumer” to include a “subscriber of goods or services from a video tape service provider.” In this case, Paramount disclosed Mr. Salazar’s Facebook ID (a unique numerical identifier Facebook assigns to each user) and video-watching history to Facebook without his consent. Mr. Salazar sued, alleging Paramount’s conduct violated the VPPA. But both lower courts held Mr. Salazar was not a statutory “consumer” because he subscribed only to Paramount’s online newsletter, and not to its audiovisual goods or services. As a result, both lower courts dismissed his VPPA claim. Now the Supreme Court will decide the question.

This case will have significant implications for how streaming services and other platforms handle user data. And it will almost certainly affect the privacy rights of millions of American consumers.

Learn more about the case and appeal here.

Samira Z. Bode Elevated to Partner

Ms. Bode is a member of Bailey Glasser’s nationally recognized and ranked Mass Torts Practice Group, where she focuses her practice on representing former minors abused in juvenile hall facilities. This is challenging work which she approaches with immense tenacity and deep compassion.

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Bailey & Glasser, LLP is proud to announce that litigator Samira Z. Bode has been elevated to partner.

Ms. Bode is a member of Bailey Glasser’s nationally recognized and ranked Mass Torts Practice Group, where she focuses her practice on representing former minors abused in juvenile hall facilities in Maryland, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. This is challenging work which she approaches with not only immense tenacity, but deep compassion.

Samira also represented servicemembers in the 3M Combat Arms Earplugs litigation, the largest multi-district litigation in history which settled in 2023 for $6 billion. Additionally, Samira’s experience includes litigating mass tort cases injured by defective medical devices and dangerous pharmaceutical drugs.

Ms. Bode’s important work was recognized by Lawdragon when it named her a 2025 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation in the mass tort and product liability category, and she has been included in the Super Lawyers list in Illinois since 2024. Bailey Glasser’s Mass Torts Practice Group is nationally ranked by Chambers & Partners in the nationwide Product Liability: Plaintiffs category and by Best Law Firms® on the top National Tier in the Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs. Ms. Bode is located in our firm’s Maryville, Illinois office.

A joint statement issued by Contingency Practice Area Leader Jonathan R. Marshall, Mass Torts Practice Group Leader David L. Selby II, and partner D. Todd Mathews states:

We warmly welcome Samira Z. Bode to our partner ranks at Bailey & Glasser, LLP. She has proven time and time again that she will fight to protect and find justice for our clients, no matter if she is facing a multinational corporate conglomerate or the legal arm of an entire state. To that end, her elevation to partner is well-deserved and we congratulate her on this career milestone.

Learn more about the firm’s fight to find justice for victims of abuse in Maryland juvenile hall facilities at this link.