This Day in Legal History: Thurgood Marshall Dies
On January 24, 1993, the United States lost one of its most influential legal figures, retired Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His death in Bethesda, Maryland, marked the end of an era in American jurisprudence. Born on July 2, 1908, in Baltimore, Maryland, Marshall's journey to becoming the first African American Supreme Court Justice was paved with groundbreaking legal battles and an unwavering commitment to civil rights.
Before his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Marshall had already made a significant impact as a lawyer. He served as the chief counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), where he strategized and won a series of critical court cases that chipped away at the legal foundations of racial segregation. His most famous case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954, ended with the Supreme Court's unanimous decision declaring state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional, effectively overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson.
During his tenure on the Supreme Court, Marshall became known for his passionate advocacy for individual rights and his opposition to the death penalty. His legal opinions, both majority and dissenting, reflected his deep-seated belief in equality and justice for all. He often stressed the importance of viewing the Constitution as a dynamic, living document, capable of adapting to changing societal needs and values.
Marshall's impact extends beyond his legal victories; he paved the way for greater diversity in the legal profession and on the bench. His life and career remain a testament to the power of the law as a tool for social change and continue to inspire generations of lawyers, activists, and citizens.
His death was not just the loss of a great legal mind but also the end of an era that saw significant strides in civil rights and social justice. As we remember Justice Thurgood Marshall on this day, his legacy serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for equality and the enduring power of dedicated individuals to bring about change in society.
Brown, Yale, and Columbia universities, along with Emory and Duke, have agreed to pay a total of $62 million to settle a lawsuit accusing them of favoring wealthy applicants, bringing the total settlements in the case to $118 million. This lawsuit, filed against several U.S. universities, alleges they conspired to restrict financial aid and violated a pledge to not consider students' financial status in admissions, effectively giving an advantage to wealthy students. The universities, including those that have settled, deny any wrongdoing. The settlements vary, with Yale and Emory paying $18.5 million each, Brown $19.5 million, and Columbia and Duke $24 million each. The lawsuit, still involving 10 other universities like Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania, is pending approval from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly, who previously declined to dismiss the case in 2022.
Google has settled a patent infringement lawsuit with Singular Computing, averting a trial that was set to begin with closing arguments. The lawsuit, filed in 2019, sought $1.67 billion in damages, accusing Google of misusing Singular's computer-processing innovations in its artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Singular, founded by Joseph Bates, alleged that Google incorporated its technology into processing units used in various Google services like Google Search, Gmail, and Google Translate.
The dispute centered around Google's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), introduced in 2016 to enhance AI capabilities in tasks like speech recognition and ad recommendation. Singular claimed that the second and third versions of these units, released in 2017 and 2018, infringed on its patents. According to the lawsuit, Bates shared his inventions with Google between 2010 and 2014, suggesting that Google's TPUs copied his technology.
Internal emails revealed during the trial indicated Google's interest in Bates' ideas, with the company's now-chief scientist, Jeff Dean, acknowledging their potential utility. However, Google maintained that its employees who designed the TPUs had never met Bates and developed the technology independently, arguing that its tech was fundamentally different from what was described in Singular's patents.
Details of the settlement have not been disclosed, and representatives from both Google and Singular have confirmed the settlement without providing further information. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda expressed satisfaction with the resolution, emphasizing that Google did not violate Singular's patent rights.
Spellbook, a Canada-based legal software company specializing in contract management, has secured $20 million in Series A funding, led by Montreal's Inovia Capital. Other investors include The Legaltech Fund, Bling Capital, and Thomson Reuters Ventures. The company's product, built on OpenAI's GPT-4, assists corporate and commercial lawyers with contract drafting and review by suggesting language and negotiation points.
The legal AI sector is experiencing a surge in investment as startups introduce tools designed to integrate generative AI into legal processes. However, the market remains highly competitive with no clear leader yet emerging. Spellbook's CEO, Scott Stevenson, highlighted the company's focus on serving small to midsize law firms and solo practitioners, though it has also attracted larger firms and in-house legal teams.
Spellbook's clientele includes diverse organizations such as Addleshaw Goddard, KMSC Law, Carbon Chemistry, and ATEM Capital. The company, initially named Rally at its inception in 2019, rebranded to Spellbook after a $10.9 million seed round in June 2023 and shifted focus from automating routine legal tasks to AI-driven contract management.
The legal technology sector is witnessing increased investor interest, particularly since the advent of generative AI technologies. Other firms in the sector, such as Norm AI and Robin AI, have also recently raised substantial funding, indicating a growing trend in the investment and development of legal AI tools.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has introduced new rules for deals involving special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), aiming to enhance investor protections and align these transactions more closely with traditional initial public offerings (IPOs). This regulatory change comes as SPACs, which surged in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic as an alternative public listing method, have recently lost favor. The new rules revoke certain legal protections previously afforded to SPAC sponsors, making them more susceptible to lawsuits over exaggerated statements. These regulations also demand increased disclosures, particularly concerning forward-looking projections in the later stages of SPAC deals.
By way of very brief background, a SPAC is an alternative to the traditional IPO process for a company seeking to go public. A SPAC is essentially a shell company that raises funds through an IPO with the sole intent of acquiring or merging with an existing private company, thereby taking that company public. Unlike traditional IPOs, where a company goes public based on its own assets and operations, a SPAC has no commercial operations and is created solely for the purpose of acquiring a private company. This process allows the target company to become publicly traded more quickly and with potentially less regulatory scrutiny than the traditional IPO route. Additionally, SPACs offer more certainty regarding valuation and financing compared to traditional IPOs.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler emphasized the need for robust investor protections, regardless of the method used for going public. The SEC's heightened scrutiny and macroeconomic factors like rising interest rates have already cooled the once-booming SPAC market. Major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and Bank of America reduced their involvement in SPACs following the SEC's initial proposal of these changes.
The SEC's new requirements include detailed disclosures from SPAC sponsors about potential conflicts of interest, compensation, and dilution. Companies targeted by SPACs must now register with the SEC and fulfill additional disclosure obligations before merging. Furthermore, these target companies are now jointly liable for the information shared with investors and must provide independently audited financial statements. The SEC's Republican Commissioner Mark Uyeda criticized the rules as overly burdensome, suggesting they might effectively end the SPAC market. The new regulations will take effect in over four months, with additional financial reporting and accounting requirements for SPAC transactions also being implemented.
Mwaka 1993 Thurgood Marshall, aliyekuwa hakimu wa Mahakama Kuu ya Marekani, alikufa. Kifo chake huko Bethesda, Maryland, kilitia alama mwisho wa enzi moja katika sheria za Marekani. Alipokuwa amezaliwa Julai 2, 1908, katika Baltimore, Maryland, safari ya Marshall ya kuwa Jaji wa kwanza wa Mahakama Kuu ya Afrika ya Amerika ilikuwa na mapambano ya kisheria na kujitolea kwa haki za kiraia. Kabla ya kuapishwa katika Mahakama Kuu ya Marekani mwaka 1967 na Rais Lyndon B. Johnson, Marshall alikuwa tayari amefanya athari kubwa kama mwanasheria. Aliwahi kuwa mshauri mkuu wa Chama cha Kitaifa cha Maendeleo ya Watu wa Rangi (NAACP), ambapo alibuni mkakati na kushinda mfululizo wa kesi muhimu za mahakama ambazo zilipunguza misingi ya kisheria ya ubaguzi wa rangi. "Kesi yake maarufu, ""Brown v. Bodi ya Elimu ya Topeka"" ilimaliza na uamuzi wa umoja wa Mahakama Kuu ya Marekani wa kutangaza sheria za serikali za kuanzisha shule za umma tofauti kwa wanafunzi weusi na wazungu kuwa kinyume cha katiba, kwa ufanisi kufuta mafundisho ya ""tofauti lakini sawa"" ya Plessy v." Wakati wa uongozi wake katika Mahakama Kuu, Marshall alijulikana kwa utetezi wake wa shauku kwa haki za mtu binafsi na upinzani wake kwa adhabu ya kifo. Maoni yake ya kisheria, ya wengi na ya kutounga mkono, yalionyesha imani yake yenye msingi wa kina katika usawa na haki kwa wote. """Tunapaswa kuiona Katiba kama hati hai, yenye nguvu, inayoweza kubadilika kulingana na mahitaji na maadili ya jamii." Marshall alishinda katika kesi nyingi za kisheria na kuanzisha njia ya utamaduni katika taaluma ya sheria. Maisha yake na kazi yake bado ni ushahidi wa nguvu ya sheria kama chombo cha mabadiliko ya kijamii na inaendelea kuhamasisha vizazi vya wanasheria, wanaharakati na raia. Kifo chake hakikuwa tu kupoteza akili kubwa ya kisheria lakini pia mwisho wa enzi ambayo iliona hatua muhimu katika haki za kiraia na haki ya kijamii. """Tunapomkumbuka Jaji Thurgood Marshall siku hii, urithi wake unatumika kama ukumbusho wa mapambano ya kuendelea kwa usawa na nguvu ya kudumu ya watu waliojitolea kuleta mabadiliko katika jamii." Chuo Kikuu cha Yale, Chuo Kikuu cha Columbia, Chuo Kikuu cha Emory na Chuo Kikuu cha Duke vimekubaliana kulipa jumla ya dola milioni 62 ili kusuluhisha kesi ya kisheria inayowashtaki kuwa wanapendelea waombaji matajiri, na hivyo kuleta jumla ya $ 118 milioni. Madai hayo yanadai kuwa vyuo vikuu vingi vya Marekani vilishirikiana katika njama ya kupunguza misaada ya kifedha na kuvunja ahadi ya kutozingatia hali ya kifedha ya wanafunzi katika kuandikishwa, na hivyo kuwapa faida wanafunzi matajiri. Vyuo vikuu, kutia ndani vile vilivyofanya makubaliano, vinakataa kufanya kosa lolote. Yale na Emory zililipa $ 18.5 milioni kila mmoja, Brown $ 19.5 milioni, na Columbia na Duke $ 24 milioni kila mmoja. Kesi hiyo, ambayo bado inahusisha vyuo vikuu vingine 10 kama vile Cornell na Chuo Kikuu cha Pennsylvania, inangojea idhini kutoka kwa Jaji wa Wilaya ya Marekani Matthew Kennelly, ambaye hapo awali alikataa kufuta kesi hiyo mnamo 2022. Google imekubaliana na Singular Computing juu ya kesi ya ukiukaji wa hati miliki, na kuepuka kesi ambayo ilikusudiwa kuanza na hoja za kufunga. Madai hayo yalileta madai ya $ 1.67 bilioni kwa Google kwa kutumia vibaya ubunifu wa usindikaji wa kompyuta wa Singular katika teknolojia yake ya akili bandia. Singular, iliyoanzishwa na Joseph Bates, ilidai kuwa Google ilijumuisha teknolojia yake katika vitengo vya usindikaji vinavyotumiwa katika huduma mbalimbali za Google kama vile Utafutaji wa Google, Gmail, na Tafsiri ya Google. Google imeanzisha Tensor Processing Units (TPU) mnamo 2016 ili kuboresha uwezo wa AI katika kazi kama utambuzi wa hotuba na mapendekezo ya matangazo. Singular ilidai kuwa toleo la pili na la tatu la vitengo hivi, vilivyotolewa mnamo 2017 na 2018, vilikiuka hati miliki zake. Kulingana na kesi hiyo, Bates alishiriki uvumbuzi wake na Google kati ya 2010 na 2014, akidokeza kwamba TPU za Google zilirekodi teknolojia yake. Barua pepe za ndani zilizofunuliwa wakati wa kesi hiyo zilionyesha nia ya Google katika mawazo ya Bates, na mwanasayansi mkuu wa kampuni hiyo, Jeff Dean, akikiri faida yao ya uwezekano. Google ilisema kuwa wafanyakazi wake waliobuni TPU hawakukutana na Bates na waliendeleza teknolojia hiyo kwa kujitegemea, wakisema kuwa teknolojia yake ilikuwa tofauti kabisa na ile iliyoelezwa katika hati miliki za Singular. Maelezo ya makubaliano hayo hayakufunuliwa, na wawakilishi wa Google na Singular wamethibitisha makubaliano hayo bila kutoa habari zaidi. Msemaji wa Google Jose Castaneda alielezea kuridhika na azimio hilo, akisisitiza kwamba Google haikukosa haki za hati miliki za Singular. Spellbook, kampuni ya programu ya kisheria ya Canada, imepata $ 20 milioni katika ufadhili wa Mfululizo A, unaoongozwa na Inovia Capital ya Montreal. Wawekezaji wengine ni pamoja na The Legaltech Fund, Bling Capital, na Thomson Reuters Ventures. Bidhaa ya kampuni hiyo, iliyojengwa juu ya OpenAI GPT-4, inasaidia wanasheria wa ushirika na kibiashara na uandishi wa mkataba na ukaguzi kwa kupendekeza lugha na pointi za mazungumzo. Sekta ya AI ya kisheria inapata kuongezeka kwa uwekezaji wakati wa kuanzisha kuanzisha zana zilizobuniwa kuunganisha AI ya kizazi katika michakato ya kisheria. Hata hivyo, soko bado ni ushindani mkubwa na hakuna kiongozi wazi bado kuibuka. Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa Spellbook, Scott Stevenson, alisisitiza lengo la kampuni hiyo la kuwahudumia kampuni ndogo hadi za kati za sheria na watendaji wa solo, ingawa pia imevutia kampuni kubwa na timu za kisheria za ndani. Spellbook ina kampuni kadhaa za biashara, kama vile Addleshaw Goddard, KMSC Law, Carbon Chemistry, na ATEM Capital. Kampuni hiyo, ambayo awali iliitwa Rally wakati wa kuanzishwa kwake mnamo 2019, ilibadilishwa jina kuwa Spellbook baada ya mzunguko wa mbegu wa $ 10.9 milioni mnamo Juni 2023 na kubadilisha mwelekeo kutoka kwa automatisering kazi za kawaida za kisheria hadi usimamizi wa mkataba unaoendeshwa na AI. Sekta ya teknolojia ya kisheria inashuhudia kuongezeka kwa maslahi ya wawekezaji, haswa tangu kuibuka kwa teknolojia za AI za kizazi. Kampuni nyingine katika sekta hiyo, kama vile Norm AI na Robin AI, pia hivi karibuni zimeinua fedha kubwa, ikionyesha mwelekeo wa kuongezeka katika uwekezaji na maendeleo ya zana za kisheria za AI. Tume ya Usalama na Soko (SEC) imeanzisha sheria mpya kwa ajili ya shughuli zinazohusisha makampuni ya ununuzi wa kusudi maalum (SPACs) na lengo la kuongeza ulinzi wa wawekezaji na kuunganisha shughuli hizi kwa karibu zaidi na mauzo ya jadi ya umma ya awali (IPO). Mabadiliko haya ya udhibiti yanakuja wakati SPACs, ambayo iliongezeka katika umaarufu wakati wa janga la COVID-19 kama njia mbadala ya orodha ya umma, hivi karibuni imepoteza neema. Sheria mpya hizo zinahatarisha ulinzi fulani wa kisheria uliotolewa hapo awali kwa wadhamini wa SPAC, na kuwafanya waweze kushtakiwa kwa sababu ya taarifa zilizozidi kiasi. Sheria hizi pia zinahitaji ufunuo ulioongezeka, haswa kuhusu makadirio ya kutazama mbele katika hatua za baadaye za mikataba ya SPAC. Kwa njia ya historia fupi sana, SPAC ni mbadala wa mchakato wa jadi wa IPO kwa kampuni inayotaka kwenda hadharani. SPAC ni kampuni ya shell ambayo inakusanya fedha kupitia IPO na nia ya kupata au kuunganisha na kampuni ya kibinafsi iliyopo, na hivyo kuchukua kampuni hiyo ya umma. Tofauti na IPO ya jadi, ambapo kampuni inakwenda hadharani kulingana na mali na shughuli zake, SPAC haina shughuli za kibiashara na huundwa tu kwa kusudi la kupata kampuni binafsi. Utaratibu huu inaruhusu kampuni ya lengo kuwa biashara ya umma kwa haraka zaidi na kwa uwezekano wa chini ya udhibiti wa udhibiti kuliko njia ya jadi ya IPO. Kwa kuongezea, SPACs hutoa uhakika zaidi kuhusu tathmini na ufadhili ikilinganishwa na IPO za jadi. Mwenyekiti wa SEC Gary Gensler alisisitiza umuhimu wa ulinzi thabiti wa wawekezaji, bila kujali njia inayotumiwa kwa kwenda hadharani. Utafiti wa SEC na sababu za kiuchumi kama vile kuongezeka kwa viwango vya riba tayari zimepunguza soko la SPAC ambalo wakati mmoja lilikuwa likiongezeka. Taasisi kubwa za kifedha kama vile Goldman Sachs na Bank of America zilipunguza ushiriki wao katika SPACs kufuatia pendekezo la awali la SEC la mabadiliko haya. Sheria mpya ya SEC inahusisha kufichua kwa undani kutoka kwa wadhamini wa SPAC kuhusu migogoro ya uwezekano wa maslahi, fidia, na kupunguzwa. Kampuni zinazolengwa na SPACs sasa lazima zisajili na SEC na kutimiza wajibu wa ufunuo wa ziada kabla ya kuunganishwa. Kwa kuongezea, kampuni hizi za lengo sasa zinawajibika kwa pamoja kwa habari inayoshirikiwa na wawekezaji na lazima zitolee taarifa za kifedha zilizokaguliwa kwa kujitegemea. Kamishna wa SEC, Mark Ueda, alishutumu sheria hizo kuwa nzito sana, akidai zinaweza kumaliza soko la SPAC. Sheria mpya itaanza kutumika katika miezi minne, na ripoti za kifedha za ziada na mahitaji ya uhasibu kwa shughuli za SPAC pia zinatekelezwa.