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Priscilla Combari

Priscilla Combari represents clients on a wide variety of complex commercial transactions, specializing in technology-driven matters that enable clients to innovate and become industry leaders. She has significant experience negotiating outsourcing and other technology-driven agreements, including agreements for software development and implementation, data and software licenses (including for cloud or SaaS deliveries), professional services for both service providers and customers, commercial partnerships and collaborations, reseller and white-label arrangements, and distribution deals. She represents clients in a wide array of industries, including technology, life sciences, public utility, consumer goods, airline, hospitality, automobile and banking.

Priscilla also spent time working in-house at a technology company, where she sharpened her business acumen and deepened her understanding of strategic decision-making. Understanding the concerns and motivations of service providers enables Priscilla to approach negotiations with a balanced mindset, prioritizing achieving solutions that are not only legally robust, but also aligned with operational realities and commercially advantageous for all parties involved.

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On May 14, 2025, Covington convened experts across our practice groups for the Fourth Annual Covington Robotics Forum to explore the legal and regulatory risks and opportunities impacting robotics, AI, and connected devices. Eight Covington attorneys discussed global forecasts relevant to these spaces in a highly concentrated 90-minute session, culminating in an Industry Spotlight moderated by Covington partner Nick Evoy featuring Casey Campbell, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Figure AI. Highlights from the Forum are captured below.

AI & Robotics in the Workplace

Covington attorneys Carolyn Rashby and Anna Oberschelp de Meneses addressed key considerations for companies implementing AI tools. In the U.S., though no federal laws specifically address robotics or the use of AI in employment, employers must still comply with preexisting federal laws, like Title VII and FCRA. Conversely, various states and localities are creating legislation specifically aimed at these topics, such as New York City’s Local Law 144, which regulates employer usage of automated employment decision tools. Similarly, a patchwork of rules exists in the EU, requiring companies to monitor both EU-level regulations and directives, as well as member state-specific laws. Recommended best practices for employers seeking to utilize AI tools and robotics in the workplace include reviewing for, and mitigating potential bias in, AI vendors and tools, maintaining human oversight, and instituting ongoing training and compliance measures.

Product Safety, Product Liability & Risks

Covington attorneys Joshua González and Daniel Auten addressed key considerations for product safety and product liability in robotics. They identified robotics and AI as some of the most actively transforming spaces within product liability law today, highlighting a recent case which found that both a manufacturer of a robotics device and the software developer could be subject to product liability claims. Key defenses in robotics-related product liability suits may include asserting federal or state preemption, arguing for lack of proximate causation, and importantly, pre-planned contractual defenses and indemnifications. On the regulatory side, the CPSC and NHTSA have hosted a number of information gathering meetings on robotics, and will likely continue to issue relevant reports and monitor industry standards. Recommendations for companies in this space include developing strategies for eventual regulatory engagement, monitoring any enforcement activities, and staying abreast of regulatory obligations, such as reporting requirements.Continue Reading Covington Robotics Forum Spotlight – Enhanced Autonomy: Strategies to Navigate New Regulations, Risks & Opportunities