Mark Lanier, the Texas trial lawyer who won a landmark social media addiction case against Meta and Google, said he relied heavily on an AI tool during the trial earlier this year. Lanier described waking after only four hours of sleep to prepare for cross-examining Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, with a team that had worked through the night using artificial intelligence. The case lasted over a month and drew national attention.
Lanier, known for taking on major corporations in high-stakes litigation, told Business Insider that AI transformed his workflow during the proceedings. He said the technology allowed his team to accomplish significantly more in the limited hours available outside the courtroom. The firm paid a six-figure annual subscription for a tool called Boodlebox, which he described as providing the equivalent of 10 additional highly trained workers.
The case represents one of the highest-profile applications of AI in a courtroom setting. Lanier's success against two of the largest technology companies in the world has drawn attention to how legal teams might leverage similar tools in future litigation. The trial focused on allegations that social media platforms were designed to addict users.
Critics of AI in legal practice argue that such tools can raise concerns about data privacy, attorney-client privilege, and the potential for over-reliance on algorithmic outputs. The American Bar Association has issued guidance urging careful vetting of AI systems before deployment in litigation. Lanier's use of Boodlebox will likely prompt broader discussion about the ethical boundaries of AI-assisted lawyering.
Lanier did not disclose specific details about how Boodlebox was trained or what data it accessed during the trial, leaving some questions about transparency unanswered.