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Matthew Lewis

Matthew Lewis

Prompting a Waiver

Prompting a Waiver

Bar NewsWinter 2026Bar News.pdf1 MBdownload-circle Prompting a Waiver Feed confidential documents into an open source #AI tool and you may have just waived legal professional privilege. That's the risk sitting underneath the rush to adopt AI — and it's the subject of an article I&

Deus Ex Machina?

Deus Ex Machina?

Generative AI and the duty to verify By Matt Lewis SC and Alessandro Cowley Reported cases on the use of generative AI in litigation tend to point one way. The AI chatbot hallucinates, a court exposes the error, and public admonishment follows. If the culprit is a lawyer, there may

Chief Justice of NSW interviewed on RN Law Report

Chief Justice of NSW interviewed on RN Law Report

The Hon A.S. Bell AC, Chief Justice of New South Wales, has been interviewed by Radio National’s Law Report, on the use of AI and corporate directors’ duties. Click here for the interview.

New Federal Circuit and Family Court Practice Direction on the use of Gen AI

New Federal Circuit and Family Court Practice Direction on the use of Gen AI

A new Practice Direction has recently been published by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA). The Practice Direction applies "regardless of whether a product is ... described as AI, GenAI, smart, assistive or similar". It is therefore capable of reaching the embedded tools few practitioners think

FCA Practice Note on the use of Generative AI

FCA Practice Note on the use of Generative AI

The Federal Court of Australia has released a new Practice Note on the use of Generative AI in proceedings before the Court. The Practice Note outlines the Court’s expectations, highlights the potential benefits of Generative AI, and sets clear guidance on responsible use, accountability and disclosure obligations. It also

United States v. Heppner, No. 25-CR-00503-JSR (S.D.N.Y.)

United States v. Heppner, No. 25-CR-00503-JSR (S.D.N.Y.)

In an address to the Australian Bar Association on 29 August 2025, Bell CJ warned about the lack of adequate safeguards to preserve legal professional privilege when information is submitted to open source Gen AI chatbots. There have not been many (if any) cases squarely addressing this point. Last week,

Privacy and Deep Fakes

Privacy and Deep Fakes

Image based abuse has developed into a significant problem. In Australia, it has until recently been treated in the civil courts as a breach of confidence. However, the Privacy Act (Cth) has now been reformed. Image based abuse may be capable of being understood as a serious invasion of privacy.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.