Forbes has named partner Bob Van Nest to its inaugural America’s Top Lawyers for AI, a list that recognizes just 50 attorneys nationwide whose work is shaping the legal landscape for artificial intelligence.
Van Nest represents OpenAI in closely watched copyright litigation testing how fair use applies to the training and development of generative AI. His work builds on decades of leading companies through consequential technology disputes at trial, including Google’s landmark copyright fair use battle with Oracle. He also led Google’s trial defense against patent claims targeting its tensor processing units—the chips that power many of its AI applications—which resolved through settlement on the eve of closing arguments in January 2024.
Keker’s Powerhouse AI Litigation Practice
Van Nest’s selection highlights Keker, Van Nest & Peters’ leading role in representing companies at the forefront of AI, including OpenAI, Google, Meta, NVIDIA, Roblox, Cerebras and Runway AI. The firm’s work spans copyright disputes over AI training and outputs, patent litigation involving AI technologies, and emerging privacy and right-of-publicity challenges involving synthetic voices and AI-powered communications tools.
Attorneys handling these matters include Van Nest, James Slaughter, Paven Malhotra, Michelle Ybarra, Nick Goldberg, David Silbert, Ed Bayley, Tom Gorman, Reid Mullen, Sharif Jacob, Ben Berkowitz, Matan Shacham, Katie Lynn Joyce, Bailey Heaps, Christina Lee, and Sarah Salomon, among others.
Forbes selected honorees through a multistage editorial process assessing their influence on AI law, significant matters, advocacy, practice impact, thought leadership, and peer and client feedback.
