A Note by Lee Walter Download the full note here. Over the past several months, advanced machine learning algorithms called “large language models” (LLMs) have led to the creation of a variety of AI-powered legal software services.[1] LegalZoom leverages a simple LLM to interpret user responses to online questionnaires and generate boilerplate forms for estate planning and new business registration.[2] EU-based LegalAi uses the technology to provide prelitigation assessments of lawsuit validity to consumers.[3] And Casetext provides document drafting and review for attorneys.[4 ..read more

A Note by Jabari Turner Download the full note here. Millions of Americans were stuck in their houses during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] The rising death tolls, financial insecurity, and growing uncertainty increased anxiety, depression, and a surge in emergency department visits for mental health conditions.[2] Federal and state-level licensing alongside permit waivers, allowed many Americans needing mental health care, access to telemental health services.[3] As a result, Americans used their health insurance to access more options in and out-of-state that were unavailable befor ..read more

A Note by Zack Stutler Download the full note here. Technology’s growth over the past decade has permeated all aspects of life.[1] Financial markets have not been isolated from this increasing digitization.[2] More specifically, the introduction of digital assets (crypto-currency, non-fungible tokens, etc.) has taken the world by storm.[3] With the introduction of new assets comes the need for new regulations. While consumer regulations are important, so too are regulations on companies and how they report their ownership of digital assets.[4] Regulations on companies are import ..read more

A Note by Doyeon Oh Download the full note here. A conception of digital worlds in the form of virtual and augmented realities has been a science-fiction vision since the 20th century.[1] As of 2023, that vision has become more than just a reality.[2] Established tech giants like Meta and Google are already taking the next step in developing the “metaverse”—a universal platform promising a fully immersive real-life experience within a network of multiple virtual worlds.[3] Theoretically, the metaverse will allow users, or their “avatars,” to live, work, and socialize as the ..read more

A Note by Mackenzie Morgan Download the full note here. As technology has continued to advance, so have company reward programs. In 2021, Starbucks customers loaded $11 billion onto mobile Starbucks Cards,[1] accounting for almost half of all Starbucks sales.[2] The amount of money consumers have loaded onto their mobile applications to prepay for their coffee orders has allowed Starbucks to overtake most banks in terms of assets.[3] “85% of US banks have less than $1 billion total in assets, illustrating the major player Starbucks has become in this space.”[4] Should the b ..read more

A Note by Rema Marie Kodaimati Download the full note here. The global debt levels have reached new records despite the massive technological advances made in recent decades.[1] The current global debt has reached approximately 350% of the global GDP, or the equivalent of $37,500 per person in the world.[2] Although international economists have forecasted that the global economy will continue to grow in 2023, albeit at a decreased rate of 2.7% from the 6% of 2021, their predictions are based upon gross domestic product, (“GDP”),[3] a metric that is often criticized as misrepres ..read more

A Note by Natalie Boyd Download the full note here. In early January 2023, the Dungeons and Dragons publisher, Wizards of the Coast, became the center of widespread controversy, with over 60,000 people signing an open letter condemning their actions after a revised version of their open gaming license (“OGL”) was leaked (the “Leak”).[1] Dungeons and Dragons, a popular tabletop roleplay game, has used an OGL since 2000 to allow fans and publishers to create works compatible with the original game.[2]This OGL has allowed third party creators to use Dungeons and Dragons rules and systems wit ..read more

A Note by Lindsey Robin Download the full note here. As digitization and technology increasingly affect all aspects of life, law makers and academics alike continue to consider how antitrust law can be applied to digital markets. Concerns over big data, data security, monopolization, privacy, and unfair competition practices have garnered much attention across the globe in the last decade.[1] How and whether antitrust law should effectively address these concerns remains a hotly debated topic in the antitrust community. [1] See generally, Benjamin M. Fischer, The Rise of the Data-Opoly: Consum ..read more

A Note by Alec Klimowicz Download the full note here. Buy Now, Pay Later (“BNPL”) has taken consumer shopping by storm. Businesses have emerged with the BNPL model as its primary operation, offering repayment plans, typically in four equal payments across six weeks, at no interest.[1] A financial movement that ostensibly began only a couple of years ago is now playing a role in over 200 billion dollars’ worth of transactions.[2] Consumers have accelerated BNPL’s use during the pandemic; BNPL’s usage increased by 230% in 2020 and 400% during the same year’s Black Friday holiday.[3] These busine ..read more

A Note by Amanda Holme Download the full note here. At the Aspen Security Forum, Gary Gensler, chair of the SEC, compared the state of cryptocurrency regulation to the “Wild West,” noting its lack of investor protection.[1]  Gensler has continued to repeat the “Wild West” metaphor when discussing the challenges and lack of cryptocurrency regulation, which leave individual investors and financial markets vulnerable to fraud.[2] Although the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), and U.S. Securities a ..read more