CHECKLIST FOR LAW FIRMS
Before client files go into an AI tool.
The questions to ask first.
A one-page list built from ABA Formal Opinion 512, organized by the rule behind each question. Use it on any AI vendor, including me.
Where client information goes
Model Rule 1.6- Where does processing happen: on our hardware, the vendor’s servers or a third party’s?
- Does the tool learn from what we enter? If so, the opinion says the client’s informed consent is needed first.
- Who at the vendor, or its subcontractors, can see our data, and under what conditions?
- How long is our data kept, and can we have it deleted and get confirmation?
- Have we read the terms of use and privacy policy, and can the vendor change them without notice?
Inside the firm
Model Rules 1.6 and 5.1- Can the tool show one matter’s information to someone walled off from it?
- Can access be limited by matter, client or group, and has anyone tested that?
- Do we have a written policy on which tools staff may use, and for what?
- Has everyone who will use it been trained on the policy and on the tool’s limits?
Telling the client
Model Rules 1.4 and 1.6- Does this use require the client’s informed consent? Boilerplate in an engagement letter isn’t enough.
- If a client asks how we use AI on their matter, can we answer specifically?
- Does the engagement agreement say how AI is used, where that matters to the client or the fee?
Checking the vendor
Model Rule 5.3- Have we checked references, the vendor’s credentials and its hiring practices?
- What are its security policies, and will it put them in writing?
- Will it sign a confidentiality agreement before it sees any client files?
- Does it have a conflicts check for the firms and parties it works with?
- Where could we seek relief if it breaks the agreement?
- Good practice beyond the opinion: how fast will it tell us about a breach, and how is our data returned or destroyed at the end?
Checking the output
Model Rules 1.1, 3.1, 3.3 and 8.4(c)- Do we understand what the tool is good at and where it fails?
- Who verifies output before it reaches a client, opposing counsel or a court?
- Are citations and quotations checked against the source every time?
Billing for it
Model Rule 1.5- Are we billing only actual time, not the time the tool saved?
- Is time spent learning a general tool kept off client bills, unless the client asked for that tool?
- Have we decided how, or whether, tool costs appear on an invoice?
This is a list of questions, not legal advice. It summarizes an ABA ethics opinion in plain language and doesn't replace reading it or talking to your own ethics counsel.
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