Solutions at the speed of now

Stradling secured a significant victory for Paris Jackson in ongoing probate litigation involving the Estate of Michael Jackson. Stradling Partner Jason de Bretteville led the successful representation along with Andrew Mason, Micol Small, and Morgan Lane.

Ms. Jackson challenged certain payments and accounting practices by the estate’s executors, including $625,000 in “bonus” payments made to third-party law firms in 2018 that she argued lacked sufficient explanation and transparency.

A Los Angeles judge ultimately sided with Ms. Jackson, ruling that the $625,000 must be returned to the estate after finding the payments were not shown to be “just and reasonable” based on the information provided to the court. The ruling also provides for an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees to Ms. Jackson.

The rapid growth of generative AI has created a set of unresolved legal questions, the most consequential being whether training large language models on copyrighted works constitutes infringement. Companies that develop and deploy AI tools face real exposure as courts, regulators, and rights holders test how existing copyright rules apply to these technologies. The core question is whether ingesting copyrighted material to train a model is permissible or whether it requires a license from the rights holder. That issue remains unsettled, and the litigation is accelerating. A new lawsuit filed on May 5, 2026, highlights the immediacy of this risk.

The USPTO has announced a new pre-order procedure that, for the first time, gives patent owners a formal opportunity to weigh in before the Office decides whether to order ex parte reexamination. Signed by Director John A. Squires on April 1, 2026, the Official Gazette Notice takes effect for all reexamination requests filed on or after April 5, 2026.