Hudson County approves $35,000 AI legal services contract despite staff and privacy concerns
Hudson County's board of commissioners voted 8-1 on April 24 to add an AI legal services subscription to its existing West Publishing contract. The $35,000 add-on for CoCounsel Legal-an AI tool built into Westlaw-will help the county's Law Department review documents, research case law, and generate legal summaries through 2027.
County Counsel Alberico De Pierro said the tool complies with American Bar Association guidelines for AI use in legal work. He framed it as a productivity measure: instead of staff spending two to three weeks reviewing large document batches, the AI can accelerate analysis and research.
Commissioner Bill O'Dea cast the sole no vote. He raised concerns about AI reliability and whether the tool could eventually replace county lawyers, though County Administrator Abe Antun said no staff cuts would result from the implementation.
Public testimony focused on data privacy and AI accuracy
Residents who spoke during public comment raised separate concerns about how the county handles data shared with AI systems. Courtney Walker, who works in technology, warned that AI companies retain and use data to train their models.
"AI is often wrong," Walker said. "It's very wordy. The number of work items I have to review now, because other peoples' output has gone up."
Jersey City resident Lily Hecht, an attorney, objected to the broader use of AI by government. She cited environmental costs of running AI systems and pointed out that West Publishing's parent company Thomson-Reuters holds contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"The more data, the stronger they get before we even know how to regulate them," Hecht said. She referenced documented cases where AI facial recognition misidentified people, leading to wrongful arrests.
Mussab Ali, an 8th District congressional candidate, urged the county to adopt an AI safety policy before pressure from AI industry lobbying intensifies at the local level. He compared the political influence of OpenAI and similar companies to established advocacy groups, noting they've built a $150 million political action committee focused on deregulation.
De Pierro defended the limited scope
De Pierro pushed back on the broader concerns, saying CoCounsel Legal is strictly for internal legal work-document review, case research, and template generation. He said the tool would not be used for replacing employees or making final legal determinations.
"This is only AI related to helping in legal matters, nothing else," De Pierro said.
O'Dea remained unconvinced. He said he objected to relying on AI to interpret legal documents and case law that would inform the county's representation in court.
"If you're representing me in a case, I don't want you relying on AI going through all the case law and all the documents to decide what to represent or not represent me in court," O'Dea said.
For legal professionals using AI tools, understanding both the capabilities and limitations of AI for legal work is essential. Those working in paralegal roles may find structured training on AI applications in legal settings useful as these tools become more common in law departments.
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