Today’s global economy is more data-driven than ever before, with artificial intelligence (“AI”) reshaping virtually every industry. The regulatory landscape has evolved significantly: The EU AI Act is now in phased implementation with general-purpose AI obligations effective now and most remaining provisions by August 2026; Colorado enacted the first comprehensive U.S. state AI law in 2024, effective February 2026; New York signed the RAISE Act; and California advanced AI rules for lawyers and arbitrators. At the federal level, the Trump administration released its America’s AI Action Plan in July 2025, and the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) issued revised AI governance and procurement policies for federal agencies. This dynamic environment creates both opportunity and risk for organizations deploying AI.
Blank Rome’s multidisciplinary team consists of attorneys from different legal practice areas and with varied industry specialization, including many with technical, software, and engineering backgrounds. The team is ready to advise clients about AI technologies and the many legal issues that arise for companies seeking to develop or incorporate AI technologies into their products and services.
We provide cutting-edge strategic legal approaches to dealing with AI at all stages of exploration, from looking at ways AI may impact businesses, to monitoring legislation and “soft law” standards applicable to developers, to sorting through hype to find true value in business transactions involving AI products and services. Through our business-oriented and client-centered approach to handling legal matters, we offer guidance and insight from continually evolving transactional, regulatory, and litigation-focused perspectives to help clients navigate this complexity with practical, business-oriented counsel.
Key Legal Considerations
Transparency & Explainability: The EU AI Act, California’s AI Transparency Act, and multiple state proposals now mandate that organizations provide meaningful explanations of AI-driven decisions. Understanding how algorithmic models reach impactful outcomes is critical for regulatory compliance and reputational protection.
Bias & Civil Rights: AI-based decision systems raise potential civil rights violations issues when models reflect implicit biases that disproportionately affect underrepresented populations. Federal agencies and state attorneys general are increasingly focused on algorithmic fairness in hiring, lending, housing, and healthcare.
Notice & Consent: New and proposed laws require adequate notice when individuals interact with AI systems or when their rights are affected by AI technology. Companies must balance transparency obligations with confidentiality, trade secrets, opt-in mechanisms, and data privacy policies.
Workforce & Automation: AI-driven robotic process automation continues to reshape labor and employment practices. New state and local laws (including New York City’s automated employment decision tools law) require impact assessments and disclosures when AI is used in hiring and employment decisions.
Intellectual Property: The patent landscape for AI technologies continues to evolve, affecting strategies for protecting, licensing, and enforcing AI-based inventions. The questions surrounding AI-generated works, training data copyright, and ownership remain unsettled.
Data Privacy & Security: The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) (with new automated decision-making regulations), state biometric privacy laws, and international frameworks (General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), EU AI Act) impose overlapping requirements on AI-driven data collection, processing, and sharing.
Mergers & Acquisitions Due Diligence: Due diligence in deals involving AI products and services requires understanding the true nature of a company’s AI capabilities, data dependencies, regulatory exposure, and associated risks for proper valuation.
Government Contracts & AI Procurement: OMB’s 2025 policies (M-25-21, M-25-22) require federal agencies to designate Chief AI Officers, establish governance boards, and maintain AI use case inventories—creating new compliance requirements for government contractors.
Healthcare AI: Health systems are rapidly adopting AI to automate tasks and reduce expenses, but face a complex patchwork of state AI laws, Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) guidance on AI / machine learning(“ML”)-based medical devices, and data privacy requirements governing health information.
How We Can Help
Our team provides experienced counsel across the full AI lifecycle. Key practice areas include:
Intellectual Property and Technology
- Develop strategies for identifying and protecting AI-related intellectual property
- Prepare and prosecute patent applications to protect AI technologies
- File and prosecute trademark applications and develop branding strategies for AI businesses
- Advise on the acquisitions of .AI, .IO, and other tech-centric domains
- Advise on the advantages of protecting AI-based trade secrets vs. obtaining patents
- Navigate AI-generated works and data copyright issues
- Act as litigation counsel to enforce intellectual property rights or defend against claims of infringement
Risk Assessment, Management, and Mitigation
- Conduct top-to-bottom, end-to-end, enterprise-wide internal risk assessment investigations to spot legal problems related to the development, deployment, and/or use of AI technologies
- Identify strategies to reduce risk
- Prepare independent legal risk assessments for use in regulatory submissions
- Act as legal counsel when response plans are activated following unforeseen incidents
- Negotiate terms of consent orders and penalties with regulatory agencies when violations occur
- Evaluate AI-specific insurance coverage
Data Privacy
- Review and develop privacy policies for AI-driven data collection and conditional use agreements for websites and mobile apps that utilize AI-based data collection technologies
- Prepare policies and consents required by applicable law to collect sensitive data, such as biometric data obtained through facial and object recognition camera systems (Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”), Texas Capture or Use Biometric Identifier Act (“TX CUBI”))
- Address EU AI Act, GDPR, and CCPA / California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) requirements
- Advise on automated decision-making regulations
- Help implement security breach response plans for companies, as well as identify processes to reduce the legal risks related to security incidents
Labor and Employment
- Draft and review employment policies to address the impacts of AI technologies, such as robotic process automation, on employees specifically, but also as it relates to labor issues more generally
- Advise on AI use in hiring
- Navigate labor agreements impacted by automation
- Advise on algorithmic bias in workforce management
Contracts and Agreements
- Develop or review purchase agreements involving AI technologies, as well as acquisition, user license, terms of service, conditional use, privacy policies, software as a service (“SaaS”) and machine learning as a service (“MLaaS”)
- Draft data ownership and licensing agreements
- Review AI vendor terms and conditional use policies
Mergers and Acquisitions
- Provide highly experienced and knowledgeable AI teams to perform pre-transaction due diligence
- Assess true AI business valuation beyond market hype
- Evaluate regulatory and litigation risk exposure
- Structure deal terms for AI-dependent businesses
Government Contracts
- Navigate data rights and intellectual property regulations in Department of Defense / Department of Homeland Security AI contracts
- Advise on OMB AI procurement policies (M-25-22)
- Address bid protests involving AI technology
Healthcare and Life Sciences
- Advise on FDA AI medical device guidance
- Navigate state AI laws affecting health systems
- Structure health data licensing and sharing agreements
- Address AI-driven clinical decision support compliance
