276.24S sec. 001 - Pro-Innovation Risk Analysis for Lawyers (Summer 2025)
Instructor: Michael Burshteyn
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Units: 1
Grading Designation: Credit Only
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
MTuWThF 4:45 PM - 6:25 PM
Location: Law 145
From June 30, 2025
To July 09, 2025
Class Number: Click to show Class Number
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 18
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 30
As of: 04/04 10:14 AM
AI ethics – why does it matter? AI safety – why does it matter? This course will take a practical approach towards reviewing litigation and regulatory issues with respect to AI technology innovation. These include cases involving lawyers’ improper use of AI in legal briefs, class action and mass tort product liability theories against AI products, issues relating to scraping, copyright, and fair use, as well as fun cases involving allegations of defamation based on an AI “speech.” We will cover AI platform abuse issues and litigation, including financial fraud, scams, bots, API abuse, information manipulation, sextortion, and issues around drugs, guns, and extremism. Our class will take a close look at how courts around the country are applying Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to AI controversies. We’ll also see how companies are beginning to deal with legal regimes such as new AI laws in the United States, the European Union, and elsewhere. We will study how agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission are approaching AI developers, including reviewing filed enforcement actions.
The class will take a case-study approach looking at real litigation and controversies involving technologies in the wild. We’ll have guests from industry, including lawyers from technology companies navigating the complexities of the AI regulatory and litigation landscape. Students will have an opportunity to team up and do a hearing-style mini-debate on the AI law trends we review.
Michael Burshteyn, the instructor, is a Partner at Greenberg Traurig in San Francisco. He represents technology companies, including AI innovators, in litigation and regulatory disputes across the US and worldwide. He is lead counsel in multiple disputes involving over $100m in controversy. Mike has handled a variety of cases involving product liability styled allegations of AI-gone-wrong, including claims relating to wrongful death from purported failure of AI to detect dangerous content. He was formerly the CEO and Founder of a technology company, which gives Mike a practical perspective on how businesses look at emerging legal regimes. In addition to his litigation practice, Mike coordinates the legal roadmap for many AI startups as outside general counsel. He attended Berkeley Law as a visiting student and attended Cal for undergrad, where he led the team to the #1 college debate ranking in the United States.
Exam Notes: (T) Final practice trial or arguments
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: AI Law and Regulation
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Intellectual Property and Technology Law
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