Generative AI in Litigation: Privilege, Work Product, and Protective Orders

Alicia M. Hawley, Counsel | K&L Gates LLP

Alicia M. Hawley is Of Counsel in the Chicago office of K&L Gates, where she practices in the firm’s e-Discovery Analysis & Technology (e-DAT) group. An experienced litigator and white-collar criminal defense attorney, Certified eDiscovery Specialist, and award-winning innovator, Alicia has nearly two decades of experience counseling clients on both routine and complex eDiscovery issues, best practices, case and narrative development, and fact investigations. She regularly serves as coordinating discovery counsel on major litigations and government investigations and counsels the firm and clients on all phases of the EDRM, including implementing defensible preservation practices and litigation holds, managing evolving data sources and communication tools, navigating complex legal issues such as possession, custody and control, privilege, proportionality, and Rule 37(e) sanctions, negotiating ESI protocols, and leveraging technology and artificial intelligence to identify and analyze key documents.

• Education & Credentials

Alicia earned her J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in 2002 and her B.A. from Miami University (Ohio) in 1998. She is admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia and the Bar of Illinois, and to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. She has been a Certified eDiscovery Specialist through the Association of Certified eDiscovery Specialists since 2020.

• Recognition & Leadership

In 2021, Alicia received the Attorney Tech Evangelist Award at Relativity Fest, voted on by her peers and recognizing her as the one attorney in the United States who best leverages technology in unique and resourceful ways, collaborates across departments to drive innovation, invests in innovation and champions the adoption of new eDiscovery tools, keeps a pulse on emerging changes in the field, and shares her knowledge with the eDiscovery community through writing and speaking. She currently chairs two drafting teams for the Sedona Conference Working Group 1—”Lifting Legal Holds” (Chair, 2024) and “The Sufficiency of FRCP 26(a)(1) Initial Disclosures” (Co-Chair, 2023-Present)—and serves as Executive Director of the Women in eDiscovery Chicago Chapter (2022-Present). She also recently argued and won a progressive decision regarding the use of technology-assisted review (TAR) in Livingston et al v. City of Chicago.

• Professional Involvement

Alicia is actively involved with The Sedona Conference Working Group 1, where she chairs the “Lifting Legal Holds” Drafting Team (2024) and co-chairs the “Sufficiency of FRCP 26(a)(1) Initial Disclosures” Drafting Team (2023-Present), and previously served on the TAR Case Primer Drafting Team (2021-2023). She is Executive Director of the Women in eDiscovery Chicago Chapter (2022-Present) and a member of the Association of Certified eDiscovery Specialists (2019-Present). She has held adjunct faculty positions at Northwestern University School of Law, Loyola University School of Law, Northwestern University, and Elmhurst University, and is a frequent speaker at industry events including Today’s General Counsel, the Everlaw Summit, ACEDS, the World Legal Tech Summit, The Master’s Conference, and the American Bar Association. She has co-authored “TAR Primer, Second Edition” (Sedona Conference Working Group 1, 2023) and the “Litigation Technology” chapter of Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts (Thomson Reuters, 2022).

• Experience

Alicia is Of Counsel in K&L Gates’ e-Discovery Analysis & Technology (e-DAT) practice, with areas of focus spanning e-DAT, Internal Investigations, White Collar Defense and Investigations, the Technology industry, and Artificial Intelligence. She has represented Fortune 500 companies, banks, broker-dealers, C-suite executives, and financial institutions in investigations and prosecutions by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, the Ohio State Attorney General, and the Illinois Inspector General, as well as clients in commercial civil disputes, employment litigation, trademark and trade secret litigation, and matters before the International Trade Commission. Prior to joining the firm, Alicia served as a senior discovery attorney in the Chicago office of another international law firm, focusing on e-discovery, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in complex litigation and dispute resolution. She also dedicates a notable portion of her practice to pro bono matters.

Jason Loring, Partner, Member | Jones Walker LLP

Jason Loring is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group at Jones Walker and a member of the firm’s commercial transactions team, where he co-leads the firm’s Privacy, Data Strategy, and Artificial Intelligence team from the Atlanta office. He advises clients on data privacy and protection, cybersecurity, data governance, breach response, data strategy, and artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as strategic technology transactions and related commercial matters. Jason represents publicly traded corporations, privately held companies, government entities, not-for-profits, and other enterprises, and provides forward-thinking counsel on global data privacy laws including the EU and UK GDPR, HIPAA, GLBA, COPPA, the EU AI Act, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and state privacy statutes such as the CCPA, CPRA, and BIPA.

• Education & Credentials

Jason earned his JD from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2006, where he served on the editorial staff of the Wake Forest Law Review, and holds a BA in History from the College of Charleston, conferred in 2003. He is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia. He holds the Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) and Certified Information Privacy Professional, United States (CIPP/US) certifications from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

• Recognition & Leadership

The International Association of Privacy Professionals has bestowed on Jason the prestigious honor of being a Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP). He co-leads the firm’s Privacy, Data Strategy, and Artificial Intelligence team and serves on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Bar Association’s Privacy and Cybersecurity Section, on the Executive Committee of the State Bar of Georgia’s Privacy & Technology Law Section, and as a Senior Advisor to the Atlanta CofC Club.

• Professional Involvement

Jason is a member of the IAPP, the Atlanta Bar Association’s Privacy and Cybersecurity Section (Board of Directors), the State Bar of Georgia’s Privacy & Technology Law Section (Executive Committee), and the State Bar of Georgia’s Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Technology. He is an active author and speaker, with publications in Bloomberg Law, Law360, and the Chambers Global Practice Guide, and speaking engagements at the Life Sciences AI Summit, IAPP KnowledgeNet, the State Bar of Georgia Privacy & Technology Law Forum, and the Practising Law Institute’s Annual Institute on Privacy and Cybersecurity Law.

• Experience

Jason began his career in private practice in Atlanta before holding senior leadership positions at several market-leading global providers of strategic business consulting, financial services, enterprise data, and business-process solutions. Prior to joining Jones Walker, he served as senior vice president, deputy chief legal officer, and global head of privacy and data protection for Vialto Partners. He previously served as chief privacy and security counsel, Americas, for EY; as assistant general counsel, corporate services, for E*TRADE Financial Corporation; and as counsel, global enterprise solutions, for ADP.

Eric B. Evans, Partner | Perkins Coie LLP

Eric B. Evans is a Partner in the Palo Alto office of Perkins Coie, where he serves as a dynamic and tenacious lawyer advocating for major technology and advertising clients in complex commercial litigation matters. He represents innovative companies in trade secret cases and large-scale federal false advertising, privacy, and antitrust class actions, and he helps leading technology companies navigate complex data and information governance issues, including the use of generative AI tools in their businesses. His advice to clients on generative AI and information governance is informed by his prior experience as an information technology professional.

• Education & Credentials

Eric earned his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as Contributing Editor of the Michigan Law Review and Executive Note Editor of the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review. He also holds an A.M. in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University and an A.B. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University, conferred summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He is admitted to the State Bar of California and to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

• Recognition & Leadership

Eric graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He also graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University with election to Phi Beta Kappa. During law school, he served as Contributing Editor of the Michigan Law Review and Executive Note Editor of the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review.

• Professional Involvement

Eric maintains an active pro bono practice and has represented clients in high-profile voter suppression matters, as well as in a successful class action that brought relief to victims of the Trump administration’s travel ban that disproportionately affected Muslim families. He speaks Arabic and French and has some skill in Persian and Turkish. He is an active author and commentator, with recent insights including “Court Rejects Arbitration Clause That Relies on ‘Sign-In Wrap,’ “Heppner and Gilbarco: Courts Apply Privilege and Work Product Protection to Generative AI Tools,” and “Federal Court Rules Client’s Use of Generative AI Is Not Privileged,” and he was interviewed by Bloomberg Law on the topic “Justices Hunt for Middle Ground on Internet Liability ‘Extremes.’

• Experience

Eric is a Partner at Perkins Coie in Palo Alto, where his practice focuses on Business Litigation, Litigation, Corporate Law, Patent Litigation, Trade Secrets, NewLaw, and Data Centers and Digital Infrastructure, with industry experience spanning Advertising, Marketing & Promotions; Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning; Interactive Entertainment; Immersive Technology; Music, Film & Television; and Digital Media & Entertainment, Gaming & Sports. He previously served as a Partner at Mayer Brown LLP in Palo Alto from 2005 to 2021. Before law school, Eric was associate director of instructional technology at Denison University, where he lived through the dot-com boom as Denison’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act agent and enforced and redrafted the university’s Acceptable Use Policy for Network Resources during the heyday of peer-to-peer filesharing.

David A. Sergenian, Founder | Sergenian Law LLP

David A. Sergenian is the Founder of Sergenian Law, P.C., based in Santa Monica, California. He concentrates his practice in copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, partnership and startup disputes, appellate practice, and general commercial litigation, and also has extensive experience in patent law, securities litigation, entertainment litigation, and employment actions. He has represented clients on both sides of the “v.”—including numerous Fortune 500 companies—in litigations, trials, arbitrations, and alternative dispute resolutions.

• Education & Credentials

David earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2003. He also holds an M.A. in Philosophy & Literature from New York University, conferred in 2000, and a B.A. in Liberal Arts from New School University, conferred in 1999. He is admitted to the California State Bar and to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

• Recognition & Leadership

David has been recognized as a Super Lawyer in Southern California for General Litigation from 2021 through 2026. He is the Founder of Sergenian Law, P.C., and serves as outside General Counsel to The French Conservatory of Music.

• Professional Involvement

David serves as outside General Counsel to The French Conservatory of Music. His representative matters include serving Fortune 500 companies, film production companies and major studios, investment management firms, prominent real estate developers, broadcasters, utility companies, internet startups, whistleblowers in securities fraud disputes, television production companies, and well-known individual clients in jury trials, bench trials, appellate matters, arbitrations, and mediations.

• Experience

David is the Founder of Sergenian Law, P.C. in Santa Monica, California, where his practice focuses on copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, partnership and startup disputes, appellate practice, and general commercial litigation, with additional experience in patent law, securities litigation, entertainment litigation, and employment actions. Before founding Sergenian Law, he practiced at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and at Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro. Before law school, he worked as a film and video editor in feature films, documentaries, and television. His representative matters span IP disputes, patent litigation, trade secrets and breach of fiduciary duty trials, real estate and partnership disputes, securities fraud, employment claims, and entertainment matters, with notable results including defense verdicts affirmed on appeal, a complete defense judgment affirmed by the Federal Circuit, and favorable settlements for Fortune 500 broadcasters, investment management firms, real estate developers, utility companies, and prominent individual clients.

SESSION 1 – Work Product for AI Prompts and Outputs | 1:00pm – 1:30pm

Examine how Rule 26(b)(3) and Hickman v. Taylor apply to AI prompts, outputs, and platform metadata. Learn to identify which AI-generated materials qualify as opinion versus fact work product and preserve protection during discovery.

SESSION 2 – The Warner, Tremblay, and Morgan Split | 1:30pm – 2:00pm

Analyze the emerging doctrinal divide across Warner v. Gilbarco, the Tremblay/Concord Music line, and Morgan v. V2X. Develop arguments for and against work product protection of AI inputs and outputs in your jurisdiction.

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 3 – Privilege Waiver After United States V. Heppner | 2:10pm – 2:40pm

Unpack Heppner’s holding on consumer-AI privilege waiver, the Kovel doctrine’s limits with non-human agents, and concrete intake protocols to close the represented-client exposure gap before independent ChatGPT use destroys privilege.

SESSION 4 – Drafting AI-Specific Protective Orders | 2:40pm – 3:10pm

Master the practical drafting techniques courts now expect, including AI tool disclosure provisions, prompt-logging requirements, training data restrictions, and platform vetting clauses. Walk away with model protective order language ready for immediate use.