Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) overview
Artificial Intelligence—including most recently Generative AI—is driving transformative and disruptive change. White & Case advises and represents clients throughout the entire AI ecosystem, helping them navigate the legal, commercial and technical complexities of this fast-evolving technology.
Advising across the AI technology stack
Our global team of specialized lawyers represents businesses across the AI tech stack, including those investing in, developing or adopting:
- Applications: Applications and other tech leveraging foundational AI technology
- Models: Foundational AI technology (including foundation models, such as large language models and large data sets)
- Infrastructure: Critical AI infrastructure powering such foundational AI technology, and the applications and other technologies leveraging them
Key AI trends
White & Case's experience advising some of the world's largest AI developers provides us with unique insights into the main trends and legal considerations with respect to AI technology.
Key trends influencing any business's AI journey include:
Transformational transactions with unique considerations
AI is driving big-ticket deals and strategic partnerships across the AI tech stack, in transactions requiring sophisticated due diligence, enhanced contractual and technological protections, and more complex clearances. The increased demand for digital infrastructure is also generating major investments in data centers and chips (such as GPUs), giving rise to trade/export controls, supply chain, and ESG challenges. Such transactions require integrated and seamless cross-practice legal support from specialists who understand the technology, the market and the industry.
Greater regulatory scrutiny and government intervention
Guided by laws, regulations and executive instruments old and new (e.g., EU AI Act, executive orders in the US and trade sanctions directives), governments and regulatory bodies are increasing their scrutiny at all layers of the AI tech stack. This results in increased compliance risk and enforcement activities for developers and adopters alike (and more complex due diligence considerations for buyers and investors), in particular with respect to privacy, security, intellectual property, rights of personality, ethical use and anti-discrimination, antitrust, labor and consumer protection. Legal guidance is crucial to navigate the complex and fragmented global regulatory landscape and avoid potential penalties.
Increased and unchartered disputes activity
Companies face growing AI-related disputes (both civil and criminal) that often defy easy categorization and span multiple jurisdictions. These disputes implicate intellectual property (e.g., patent, trade secret, copyright, trademark), competition and antitrust (e.g., algorithmic collusion), contract, data protection, cybersecurity, directors' duties and disclosure obligations, discrimination and consumer protection, and more. Strong proactive measures, effective monitoring, and creative response strategies under old and new laws alike are needed to protect business's short and long-term interests.
Comprehensive AI offering
Our full-service AI capabilities—which draw on virtually all of our practice areas—cover legal needs across:
Transactions
We provide full-service and cross-border representation on matters ranging from strategic investments, M&A, private equity and joint ventures, to financings and capital markets transactions in connection with AI companies, products and infrastructure, including antitrust and merger control, FDI/CFIUS and related trade issues. We also advise on sophisticated cross-platform or technology collaborations, integrations and strategic alliances, including complex licensing and data-sharing agreements, as well as all other types of AI-related technology agreements.
Disputes & investigations
We leverage our extensive experience representing clients in intellectual property (patent, trade secret, copyright, trademark), data privacy, consumer protection, antitrust, data center construction, contract and other AI-related commercial disputes before courts, arbitration panels, and other tribunals worldwide, as well as in tech regulatory investigations (e.g., EU Commission, US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission).
Strategic advisory
We leverage our multidisciplinary capabilities to assist clients in navigating complex global regulatory frameworks. We provide in-depth product counseling and devise holistic compliance strategies that integrate various critical aspects such as privacy, antitrust, intellectual property, cybersecurity, trade, content and consumer protection standards, in addition to the growing body of AI regulations. We also develop internal and external AI policies and procedures to ensure the safe and effective delivery of AI services and products, including with respect to bias and discrimination, consequential decisions and related issues.
Digital infrastructure
We have a dedicated, international data center team comprising specialists who understand the full spectrum of legal issues relating to data centers, i.e., construction, engineering, supply, financing, operation, leasing and customer contracting, as well as power procurement, planning, emissions legislation, facilities management and related ESG challenges. We also advise on complex trade issues relating to the infrastructure and components powering AI technology (e.g., semiconductors/GPUs), including export controls/sanctions, supply chain regulations, FDI screening, free trade agreements and data localization measures.
AI education and community
When it comes to AI, it can be hard to know where to begin. White & Case delivers accredited trainings on AI, and has developed various resources for our clients, including:
Our AI team frequently engages with the global AI community at landmark conferences and through exclusive membership networks like The L Suite (TechGC).
We will also gladly share how the Firm is leveraging AI and GenAI to enhance our internal operations and the way we deliver our legal services.
In short, we are as excited as you to meet the challenges of AI and to help you harness its full potential.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) experience
Product counseling
We have counseled a range of clients, including consumer-facing platforms and emerging AI developers, on legal and ethical considerations related to new product launches, particularly those involving sensitive content, youth users and generative outputs. We advised on end-to-end product flows, user interface design, consent and age verification mechanisms, transparency obligations, and appropriate disclosures.
Policies
We are advising numerous clients on developing and operationalizing internal AI governance frameworks and policies, as well as external public-facing AI use and ethics policies. Our work incorporates cross-disciplinary considerations, including data privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property, algorithmic accountability, explainability and fairness.
Compliance with new regulations
We are actively monitoring emerging AI regulations around the world, and advising numerous clients on pragmatic compliance measures and risk-mitigation strategies, including, in relation to:
- The EU AI Act, and how to interpret its many less-than-clear provisions
- The quickly changing regulatory landscape in the US, including federal as well as many new state AI laws (e.g., Colorado AI Act, California AI laws and Illinois law) and existing US state privacy law affecting AI
- Forthcoming regulatory regimes in the UK, China, Korea, Japan, Australia, and Brazil, among others
- The overlap with other existing laws/regulatory regimes (e.g., data privacy, cybersecurity, biometrics and employment)
Trade
We advise several companies who manufacture the semiconductors and other advanced computing items that power data centers, as well as the enterprise services and consumer devices that use AI. For example, we have assisted these clients in obtaining export licenses for advanced computing items and in establishing comprehensive compliance programs across multiple jurisdictions.
Intellectual property litigation
We are representing the defendant, ROSS Intelligence, in a high-profile, first-of-its-kind appeal against Thomson Reuters, testing the application of US copyright law to AI technology. This case will likely be a landmark appeal on the question of "fair use" of copyrighted materials to train an AI model. Our first-chair IP litigators, who have been at the forefront of IP disputes dating back to formative AI technology, are also representing tech clients in multiple high-stakes copyright, trade secret, patent, and trademark cases involving AI/machine-learning processes.
White collar investigations
In one of the first regulatory investigations involving the application of AI to a business product, our team recently secured a highly favorable settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on behalf of Presto Automation. We are representing several other companies in "AI washing" investigations in connection with various claims, including the alleged misrepresentation of their AI capabilities.
Antitrust litigation
We recently defeated one of the first major antitrust attacks on hotel algorithmic pricing, successfully defending Four Seasons and other hotel groups in a US class action (and parallel litigation). It was the first ruling of its kind to dismantle a new wave of "AI collusion" lawsuits.
Commercial litigation
We serve as global litigation counsel to a global online platform and defend them in a range of AI-related cases across Europe. Issues at stake involve deepfake videos and AI-generated audio in scam ads, AI-generated harmful content, and the implementation of AI for infringing content detection and enforcement on the company's platforms.
M&A/Investments
We regularly advise investors and leading AI companies on their growth investments and M&A transactions, ensuring targeted due diligence in a rapidly evolving industry. Our experience includes representing SoftBank Vision Fund in its investments in AI companies Tractable and Peak AI; Macquarie in its investment in Hawk AI; and Hayden AI in its US$90 million Series C round.
Technology transactions
We represent a global pharma company in connection with its inaugural Generative AI program, including procuring cutting-edge GenAI products (including for digital avatars) and content to be used in connection therewith (including for information personalization).
Capital markets
We advised LightOn, a leading European player in generative artificial intelligence for businesses, on its initial public offering (IPO) on Euronext Growth Paris, which raised €11.9 million. This is the first IPO in Europe of a pure-play generative AI company.
Data centers
We advised a leading platform for digital assets and artificial intelligence infrastructure, on its acquisition of an owner, operator and developer of high-performance computing data centers.
We represented a leading global provider of hyperscale data center campuses in connection with obtaining a US$3 billion multi-asset-based revolving credit facility that won "Digital Infra Financing of the Year" at the 2024 TMT M&A Awards USA.
