US v. Heppner: Federal Court Rules AI Chat Transcripts Are Discoverable — First Nationwide Precedent on AI and Attorney-Client Privilege

Harvard Law Review / Hacker News·medium signal

Judge Rakoff (SDNY) ruled that a defendant's 31 documents generated via Claude conversations are not protected by attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine — a question of 'first impression nationwide.' Key reasoning: Claude isn't an attorney, Anthropic's privacy policy allows data collection and third-party disclosure, and the user wasn't directed by counsel. Harvard Law Review analysis warns anyone using AI for legal strategy that their conversations may be discoverable. 29 points, 10 comments on HN.