Witness Preparation and Expert Investigations in the AI Era

Katherine B. Forrest, Partner | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Katherine B. Forrest is a partner in the Litigation Department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York, where she serves as Vice Chair of the firm and Co-Chair of its Global Artificial Intelligence Group. That group handles AI litigation and advises clients on anticipating regulatory developments, limiting legal exposure, and adopting industry best practices. Before returning to private practice she spent seven years on the federal bench as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, and earlier served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Her work today centers on sensitive high-technology investigations, litigation, and advisory matters involving artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and blockchain.

• Education & Credentials

Katherine holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A., with Honors, from Wesleyan University. She is admitted to practice in New York and before the U.S. Supreme Court. She has also taught as an adjunct professor of law at NYU School of Law for ten years as of 2026, where she co-teaches a course on Quantitative Methods and the Law.

• Recognition & Leadership

Chambers USA ranked Katherine Band 1 in artificial intelligence in 2026, and Chambers Global named her a Global Market Leader in artificial intelligence in 2025. Lawdragon included her among its 2025 “500 Leading Global Entertainment, Sports & Media Lawyers,” the New York Law Journal named her a 2023 individual Innovation Award winner for her AI work, and the Financial Times shortlisted her as a 2023 Innovative Practitioner finalist. Benchmark Litigation awarded her its Hall of Fame Award in 2020 and has named her to its “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America” list (2022–2025) and its “Top 250 Women in Litigation” list (2019–2025).

She has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America since 2010, currently for Antitrust, Litigation – Antitrust, and Litigation – Intellectual Property, and was named Best Lawyers’ New York City “Lawyer of the Year” for Antitrust in 2022. Earlier honors include Crain’s New York Business’s “Notable Women in Law” (2019), The American Lawyer’s list of ten district court judges to watch (2012) and its Individual Innovation Award (2023), Law360’s ten most influential recently appointed judges (2015), Global Competition Review’s “40 Under 40” (2005), IP Law & Business’s “Top 50 Under 45” (2008), and The Legal 500 US (2022–2024). Her pro bono practice earned the Jewish Children’s Museum’s Ari Halberstam Memorial Award in 2023.

• Professional Involvement

Katherine co-hosts the award-winning Paul, Weiss podcast Waking Up With AI, which has run more than 100 episodes on AI developments, regulation, and use cases. She has written three books on artificial intelligence: When Machines Can Be Judge, Jury and Executioner: Justice in the Age of Artificial Intelligence; Is Justice Real When “Reality” is Not: The Construction of Ethical Systems in Virtual Worlds; and the forthcoming Of Another Mind: Navigating a New Social Contract with Superintelligent AI. She authored the “Artificial Intelligence” treatise chapters for Business & Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts (Fifth Edition, 2021) and Business & Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts (Fifth Edition, 2021), plus a chapter on emerging copyright issues in The Law of Artificial Intelligence and Smart Machines (First Edition, 2019). She writes a regular technology column for the New York Law Journal and received a distinguished legal writing award from The Burton Awards in 2020 for “The Holographic Judge.”

She is a frequent keynote speaker at events hosted by the American Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the National Judicial College, the New York State Judicial Institute, The Future Society, and UNESCO, and has trained judges on AI issues in the United States and internationally. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the ABA Taskforce on Law and Artificial Intelligence, co-chair of the New Jersey Court Systems AI Initiative, and a member of the board of trustees of Choate Rosemary Hall.

• Experience

Katherine advises clients on legal questions arising from technology, including artificial intelligence, the digital environment, high-speed trading, content distribution, big data, and intellectual property. She has led sensitive investigations involving the DOJ, the FTC, and other U.S. and foreign regulators, and has handled complex, high-stakes litigation spanning artificial intelligence, Web3, and digital assets.

Nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2011, she served seven years as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York and presided over several thousand civil and criminal cases. During that tenure she sat on the district’s Judicial Patent Task Force and presided over several dozen patent cases. She has also appeared on the PBS program NOVA to discuss algorithmic bias and artificial intelligence.

Bill Hartzer, CEO | Hartzer Consulting

Bill Hartzer is the CEO of Hartzer Consulting and an internationally recognized expert in internet investigations, digital evidence, search engine technologies, artificial intelligence, domain names, and online business practices. With more than 25 years of experience analyzing websites, internet records, search engines, and digital technologies, Bill assists attorneys and organizations with complex technical investigations, litigation support, and expert witness services. He is a widely respected author, consultant, and expert witness who regularly investigates technical issues, analyzes digital evidence, and prepares expert reports involving internet-related disputes.

• Education & Credentials

Bill began his career as a technical writer, producing software manuals for IBM mainframe systems in the early 1990s before transitioning into website development, domain name strategy, internet technologies, and search engine optimization. Over more than two decades, he has developed extensive expertise in internet investigations, digital evidence, search engine technologies, AI-assisted research, and technical analysis. His experience spans complex online investigations, website technologies, domain name disputes, digital marketing practices, and the evolving role of artificial intelligence in technical investigations and litigation support.

• Recognition & Leadership

Bill is internationally recognized for his expertise in search engine technologies, internet investigations, AI search, domain names, and online business practices. As CEO of Hartzer Consulting, he has advised organizations and legal teams on technical investigations involving websites, online advertising, digital evidence, and internet technologies. He previously founded DNProtect before launching DNAccess, a domain name protection and recovery service. He is also the co-founder of the Dallas/Fort Worth Search Engine Marketing Association and serves as a brand ambassador for Majestic and OnCrawl. His technical expertise has made him a sought-after expert witness in litigation involving internet technologies, digital evidence, search engines, online advertising, and domain name disputes.

• Professional Involvement

Bill is an active speaker, author, and educator on internet technologies, digital investigations, AI search, and emerging technology issues affecting businesses and the legal profession. He frequently presents at leading conferences, including SMX, PubCon, and BrightonSEO, and hosts the Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer podcast. He regularly publishes research, technical articles, white papers, and case studies on AI search, internet investigations, digital evidence, domain names, and online reputation management. His work emphasizes practical methodologies for investigating online activity, evaluating technical evidence, and responsibly incorporating AI into research and investigative workflows.

• Experience

For more than 25 years, Bill has advised organizations and attorneys on technical investigations involving websites, search engines, digital marketing, domain names, and online business practices. A significant portion of his work involves serving as an expert witness in internet-related litigation, where he conducts extensive technical research, investigates digital evidence, and prepares expert witness reports addressing complex technology issues. Bill regularly incorporates artificial intelligence into his investigative process to accelerate research, analyze large volumes of technical information, and assist in preparing certain types of documents, while ensuring that all expert opinions, findings, and reports are based on his own independent analysis, professional judgment, and well-documented methodology. His experience also includes technical SEO audits, website migrations, domain recovery strategies, AI search visibility, online reputation management, and digital asset protection.

SESSION 1 – Preparing and Defending Witnesses Ethically in the AI Era Session Scope | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

This session examines the ethical framework governing attorney use of artificial intelligence in witness preparation, from the intersection of ABA Formal Opinions 508 and 512 to the privilege consequences of unsupervised witness AI use established in United States v. Heppner. Attorneys will learn how to select appropriate platforms, structure pre-engagement AI instructions, supervise AI-generated preparation materials, and ready witnesses for AI-related deposition questions. Participants leave with concrete compliance protocols applicable across jurisdictions, including expert witness disclosure requirements and state-specific AI obligations.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – AI-Assisted Expert Witness Investigations: Research, Digital Evidence, and Defensible Expert Reports | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

Artificial intelligence is transforming how expert witnesses investigate technical issues, analyze digital evidence, organize complex datasets, and conduct research supporting expert opinions. This session explores practical AI workflows from the perspective of a seasoned technical expert witness, demonstrating where AI meaningfully improves efficiency while highlighting the tasks that continue to require independent expert judgment. Attendees will learn how AI can support investigations involving websites, search engines, digital marketing, online business practices, internet records, and technical evidence without compromising the credibility or defensibility of expert opinions. The session also examines documentation practices that help distinguish AI-assisted research from the expert’s independent conclusions.