No Counsel, No Privilege: Courts Signal That Client AI Use May Fall Outside Attorney-Client Privilege

A recent decision in the Southern District of New York is continuing to garner attention in the legal community. In February, Judge Rakoff issued a landmark decision rejecting attorney‑client privilege and work‑product doctrine protections for documents generated using artificial intelligence (AI).

In United States v. Heppner, the Court addressed whether a criminal defendant’s interactions with a publicly available generative AI platform, Claude, were privileged. The court held that both information entered into, and materials generated by, an AI tool were not protected by attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine. See United States v. Heppner, 2026 WL 436579 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 17, 2026).