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Welcome to this week's edition of The Legal Wire!

AI is under the spotlight more than ever, and the scrutiny is coming from every angle. In the U.S., fintech startup Cleo AI is shelling out $17 million to settle FTC charges, after allegedly misleading customers on cash advances and making it painfully difficult to cancel subscriptions. Across the Atlantic, Germany’s coalition parties are at odds over AI regulation—while the CDU/CSU seeks to ease burdens for economic growth, the SPD wants stronger EU-level rules and a push for open-source solutions in government.

Meanwhile, on the international stage, AI’s military potential is raising alarms. North Korea’s tests of AI-powered suicide drones have spurred calls for heightened vigilance, and the U.S. blacklisting over 50 Chinese tech firms underscores mounting concerns about AI’s role in national security.

This week’s Highlights:

• Industry News and Updates

• The Risk of Discrimination in AI-Powered Judicial Decision

• Juristic – Where Legal AI and Human Judgment Join Forces

• AI Tools to Supercharge your producivity

• Legal prompt of the week

➡️ Cleo AI Fined $17M for Misleading Users | Cleo AI has agreed to pay $17 million to settle FTC charges that it misled users about cash advances and made canceling subscriptions difficult. The FTC says most users received far less than advertised, had to pay extra for faster access, and often couldn’t cancel despite trying. The settlement bans false claims, requires clear disclosure of terms, and mandates an easy cancellation process. The funds will be used to refund affected consumers.
^{March 27, 2025, Source: FTC Gov}

➡️ German Coalition Splits on AI Regulation and Digital Sovereignty | Leaked documents show the CDU/CSU wants to ease AI Act rules to reduce economic burdens, while the SPD backs stronger EU-level regulations, including reviving the AI Liability Directive. Both support more open-source use in government, but SPD wants a 50% share by 2029, while CDU/CSU prefers looser goals. They agree on accelerating data center development but differ on how.
^{March 27, 2025, Source: Euractive}

➡️ North Korea Tests AI Suicide Drones, Kim Calls for Expansion | Kim Jong Un oversaw tests of AI-powered suicide and surveillance drones, calling unmanned and AI capabilities top priorities for modern weapons. State media showed drones tracking targets and exploding on impact, potentially boosting North Korea’s military intelligence. The display follows recent signs of deeper ties with Russia and increasing military development.
^{March 27, 2025, Source: Fox News}

➡️ U.S. Blacklists 50+ Chinese Tech Firms Over AI, Chip Concerns | The Trump administration added over 50 Chinese companies to its export blacklist to block access to U.S. AI and chip tech. The move targets firms aiding China’s military and advanced computing efforts. China condemned the decision, while the U.S. warned of stopping tech misuse for national security threats like drones and hypersonic missiles.
^{March 26, 2025, Source: CNBC}

Legal Technology

The Risk of Discrimination in AI-Powered Judicial Decision

Observations, empirical studies, and modern predictive systems confirm that judicial decisions made “solely according to the law and conscience” are, in practice, inevitably influenced by personal biases. Several factors impact the final verdict:

• The judge’s individual experience: their personal history, social circle, and professional habits;

• Personal values and beliefs, often unconscious;

• Random factors such as mood, fatigue, or external pressure;

• Collegial environment and “court culture,” where decisions are adapted to internal traditions or informal expectations.

Modern analytical tools like Pre/Dicta can predict case outcomes without analyzing the parties’ arguments—merely by assessing the judge’s profile (age, career, workplace, political or social views). If a lawsuit can be predicted based solely on the “judge’s portrait,” it raises a critical question: can such a justice system truly be called objective?

Read the whole article here

Legal Technology

Juristic – Where Legal AI and Human Judgment Join Forces

The next evolution of legal tech aims to augment lawyers, not replace them

In an era where artificial intelligence promises to do everything from writing sonnets to diagnosing illness, legal technology remains curiously stuck in the middle lane. Grand claims abound, yet many practising lawyers still rely on Word documents, email threads and PDF markups to navigate some of the world’s most complex and consequential work.

Danish legal-tech start-up Juristic has ambitions to steps into this gap – with more focus on being transformative, and less on the theatrics. Its core proposition is not to dazzle with AI magic tricks, but to embed intelligence, of both the human and machine kind, directly into the workflows of legal practice. The result is a platform that feels less like a chatbot bolted informed by old habits, and more like a legal operating system built for the future.

Read the full article here

🆕 Lexroom - AI-Powered Legal Research in Seconds

🆕 Filevine - legal practice management software built for the future

🆕 Provingly - Make better decisions faster and generate complex documents

Want more Legal AI Tools? Check out our
Top AI Tools for Legal Professionals

This prompt helps lawyers and firms quickly discover tech solutions tailored to their specific needs. By leveraging ChatGPT’s broad knowledge, it saves time on research and fosters a more efficient, modern legal practice. Perfect for staying competitive in an evolving legal landscape.

Instructions: Provide an overview of your law firm’s practice areas, current processes, and most common operational challenges. Request a concise list of recommended legal tech tools or software solutions that address these pain points. Include brief evaluations of each tool’s features, scalability, user-friendliness, and cost-effectiveness.

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