Casual Friday Communications

• Pages: 17-18
• Date: 01 July 2023
• Subject Matter: Civil Law

Published in Litigation News Volume 48, Number 4, Summer 2 023. © 2023 by the Amer ican Bar Association . Reproduced with pe rmission. All rights re served. This info rmation or any porti on thereof may not be c opied or disseminated in an y

form or by any means or sto red in an electronic da tabase or retrieval sy stem without the ex press writt en consent of the Amer ican Bar Associatio n.

Casual Friday Communications

The sharp rise in telework during the pandemic also led to increased use of enterprise

collaboration tools among employees. Tools like Slack, Microsoft 365, and Google

Workspace allow employees to communicate in messaging systems similar to text mes-

saging. Have such tools made every day “casual Friday” when it comes to electronic

communications? Electronic Discovery Law contends these messaging platforms ad-

opted by many workplaces create risk for organizations because employees may com-

municate in a less mindful manner than they would in other forms of business communi-

cations. Communications may “fail to ref‌lect the discretion and decorum appropriate for

workplace correspondence” and “fail to capture the full context of the relevant subject

matter, which can cause the communications to be ambiguous and subject to a number

of possible interpretations.” Even the use of emojis

can lead to conf‌licting interpretations. Electronic

Discovery Law recommends mitigating risk

by providing supplemental training about

best practices, with an emphasis on

how communications may be subject to

public scrutiny in the context of legal

proceedings. Organizations should also

provide guidance about record reten-

tion for different types of communica-

tions and employees’ responsibilities

relating to routine management of

these communications, as well as their

preservation for actual or reasonably

anticipated legal proceedings.

© Getty Image s

ChatGPT Confounded by Bluebook Citation

ChatGPT, an advanc ed AI languag e model, has be en all over the news for its

potential impac t in education and work settings . The technology has made sig-

nif‌icant strid es in creating engaging content and h as even passed the bar exam.

LawNext Legal Technolo gy Directory ’s Ethan Isaacson explains that ChatGPT

falls short in f ormatting leg al citations in rigorous Bluebook style. First, ChatGPT

is currently unab le to format text with itali cs, underlining, or smal l caps.

Because Bluebook citation requires th at case names be italicized or unde r-

lined, a ChatG PT-generated c itation would not con form to Bluebook style. Second,

ChatGPT tend s to incorrectly ab breviate party na mes in case citations. When citi ng

Wisconsin Pack ing Co. v. Indiana Ref rigerator Lines, Inc., GPT-4 inco rrectly abbrevi-

ates the states in the pa rty names to Wis. and Ind. T hird, ChatGP T has generated

incorrect or no nexistent reporter volumes and n umbers. In fact, in the mos t recent

update, GPT-4 no lon ger attempts th e reporter citati on but advises users to reference a

legal databa se. According to Isa acson, Chat GPT’s impressive advancement s can help law-

yers draft per suasive arguments, but until f uture versions overcom e ChatGPT’s current

Bluebook def‌iciencies , “legal professionals shou ld continue to rely on e stablished a nd dedicated Bluebook legal citation

tools to ensure the acc uracy and integr ity of their work .”

SUMMER 2 023 • VOL. 48 NO. 4

17 | ABA LITIGATION SECTIO N

POSTED& NOTED

SIGHTINGS FROM TH E BLOGOSPHERE