Technology Law Blog, IT Law & Articles | Foster Swift

AI-Generated Documents and Privilege: Why Public GenAI Use May Waive the Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Doctrine

Taylor A. Gast, Lindsey M. Mead — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:00:01 -0400

What is the background on the Heppner decision?

On February 17, 2026, in the case of United States of America v. Bradley Heppner, No. 25 CR. 503 (JSR), 2026 WL 436479 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 17, 2026), the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) held that documents generated by the defendant with generative artificial intelligence (“AI”) through a publicly-available AI platform were not protected by the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine.

Whether, when an end-user prompts and communicates with a publicly available AI tool or ...

New DIFS Bulletin Regard Use of AI by Financial Service Providers

Taylor A. Gast, Lindsey M. Mead — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 09:00:02 -0400

Introduction

The State of Michigan’s Department of Insurance and Financial Services (“DIFS”) has issued Bulletin 2026-03-BT/CF/CU, titled Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems by Financial Service Providers (the “Bulletin”).

The 10-page Bulletin reminds financial service providers regulated by DIFS that if analytical and computational technologies, including artificial intelligence (“AI”) systems, are used to make decisions that may impact consumers, such actions must comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations. Among other topics, the ...

FTC Disclosure Rules for Influencers: What You Need to Know

Lindsey M. Mead, Olivia K. Reid — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 09:00:03 -0500

Whether you are an influencer with a million followers or a thousand, if you endorse brands or products, you are required to abide by the Guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) when making recommendations to your viewership. The FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (“Guidelines”) addresses how advertisers and endorsers can remain legally compliant when promoting businesses, goods, or services (collectively, “Products”) without making “deceptive ads”. Failing to abide by the FTC’s ...

State Privacy Laws Taking Effect in 2026

Taylor A. Gast, Lindsey M. Mead — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 09:00:04 -0500

Though there remains no comprehensive nationwide, federal privacy law on the books, several states in the U.S. have passed their own privacy statues to fill in the gap. As of 2025, at least 17 states have enacted some form of general consumer privacy laws. These states include: (1) California; (2) Colorado; (3) Connecticut; (4) Delaware; (5) Florida; (6) Iowa; (7) Maryland; (8) Minnesota; (9) Montana; (10) Nebraska; (11) New Hampshire; (12) New Jersey; (13) Oregon; (14) Tennessee; (15) Texas; (16) Utah; and (17) Virginia.

At the start of the new year, three other states join the list as ...

IRS Announces 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Retirement Plans and for Health and Welfare Benefit Plans

Amanda J. Dernovshek, Julie LaVille Hamlet, Mindi M. Johnson, Olivia K. Reid — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 09:00:05 -0500

This blog has been updated since November 7, 2024. The data below is current.

The IRS has announced the 2026 cost-of-living adjustments for retirement plan and health and welfare benefit plan limitations. The charts below set forth the applicable limitations for 2026 relative to the 2025 limitations.

Retirement Plans

The chart below represents some of the important changes the IRS has made to limitation requirements for retirement plans. The changed limitations are between the 2025 limits and the 2026 limits. If you would like to review a complete explanation of all limitation ...

What Business Owners Need to Know About the New Tax Law

Michael C. Zahrt, Olivia K. Reid (Law Clerk) — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 09:00:06 -0400

This past July, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “Act”) was enacted, completely altering the landscape of tax and estate planning for business owners. One of the most significant changes? A permanent increase to the federal gift and estate tax exemption.

Yes, you read that right, permanent.

Under the new law, individuals can now transfer up to $15 million tax-free during their lifetime or at death. For married couples, that amount doubles to $30 million. These exemption limits will also increase over time to account for inflation. This is a major shift from past rules that ...

Legal Update: The Implications of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 Expiring

Taylor A. Gast, Lindsey M. Mead — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 09:00:07 -0400

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (“CISA”) expired yesterday on September 30, 2025.

Though Congress discussed renewing the statute prior to its expiration, CISA was not officially reauthorized by the federal government.

CISA was designed to encourage private organizations to share cybersecurity information with other private sector entities and the federal government through the Department of Homeland Security, aiming to strengthen overall monitoring capabilities and bolster collective defense against cyber threats. In particular, the statute ...

AG Warns About Fake College Websites: How to Protect Yourself and Your Child

Alexander S. Rusek — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 09:00:08 -0400

Choosing a college or university is one of the most important, and expensive, decisions students and families will ever make. Unfortunately, scammers know this too, and they are using fake websites to steal money and personal information from unsuspecting applicants.

Recently, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a consumer alert warning about fraudulent websites that impersonate real colleges and universities. These sites are designed to look convincing but have no connection to legitimate institutions. Instead, they trick students into sharing sensitive ...

White House Unveils Sweeping AI Strategy, “America’s AI Action Plan”

Taylor A. Gast, Lindsey M. Mead — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 09:00:09 -0400

Following Executive Order 14179 from January 23, 2025 titled Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, President Donald Trump’s administration has unveiled its awaited artificial intelligence (“AI”) roadmap to cement the United States as a front runner in the “race to achieve global dominance in [AI]”.

The plan, titled American’s AI Action Plan (the “Plan”), is a 28-page document that outlines more than 90 federal policy actions under three strategic pillars: (1) accelerating innovation; (2) building American AI ...

IRS Expands Self-Correction Program: What Plan Sponsors Need to Know About the Interim Guidance

Amanda J. Dernovshek, Mindi M. Johnson — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 09:00:10 -0400

The IRS has made it easier for retirement plan sponsors to fix common plan mistakes without going through a formal filing process. Under interim guidance in Notice 2023-43, sponsors can now correct a broader range of errors internally -- saving time, cost, and administrative hassle. This expanded self-correction relief, part of the SECURE 2.0 Act, is available immediately and gives plan sponsors more flexibility, provided that certain conditions are met.

Expanded Self-Correction Authority Now in Effect

Effective immediately and continuing until Rev. Proc. 2021-30 is formally ...