Artificial Intelligence Toolkit

AI Guidance for Legal Professionals

Explore our topic areas below. Each section contains videos, downloadable white papers, and curated resources.

Ethical Guidelines for Using Generative AI in Your Legal Practice

The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas recently released Opinion 705 to address how Texas attorneys can ethically use generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) in their practice.

Why is this important?

AI tools can significantly enhance legal work—from contract drafting to legal research—but using them ethically and responsibly is crucial. Opinion 705 clarifies the ethical considerations lawyers must address to leverage these tools safely and effectively.

Your Ethical Responsibilities:

Understand Generative AI

You have a duty to maintain technological competence (Tex. Disciplinary R. Prof. Conduct R. 1.01, Comment 8).
You must independently verify Gen AI-generated results—never rely blindly.

Protect Client Confidentiality

Always ensure client details remain secure.
Vet your Gen AI tools carefully for robust security and privacy standards.
Train your team to avoid unintended disclosures.

Always Verify AI Outputs

Double-check all Gen AI-generated content before use in client matters or court submissions.
Uphold your ethical duties of honesty, fairness, and candor to the court.

Practice Fair and Ethical Billing

Only bill clients for actual time spent working, reflecting Gen AI efficiencies in your invoices.
Clearly communicate and agree on any Gen AI-related fees or subscriptions billed to clients.

Key Considerations for Procuring AI Tools

Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers significant potential benefits for attorneys, especially those in smaller practices. However, it also introduces unique risks and challenges. Consider these issues as you navigate integrating AI effectively and safely into your legal practice.

Identify Use Cases and Develop a Risk Profile

Before purchasing AI technology, attorneys must clearly understand how AI might benefit their specific practice area:

Assess Benefits: AI can streamline repetitive tasks like timekeeping, billing, document drafting, and routine workflows, ultimately enhancing productivity and client service.

Recognize Risks: Be aware that AI tools may produce inaccuracies ("hallucinations"), raise data privacy concerns, or become burdensome without proper implementation.

Action Steps:

Identify tasks within your practice that AI can simplify.
Compare these potential benefits against your firm’s appetite for risk.

Thoughtful Procurement and Implementation

If AI aligns with your risk profile, the procurement stage requires careful evaluation of tools and potential obstacles:

Evaluate Tools Thoroughly: Research available AI solutions to determine their reliability, performance, and initial costs versus long-term value.

Consider Data Requirements: Understand that high-quality data inputs are essential for effective AI performance. Evaluate the resources needed for data preparation and management.

Resource Allocation: AI implementation often requires additional human and technical resources, including training for staff and potentially new software or hardware.

Action Steps:

Conduct thorough due diligence to understand data needs, outputs, and additional resources required by potential AI tools.
Ensure internal procurement procedures include checks specifically tailored for AI solutions.

Risk Management and Contract Negotiation

Even standard AI licensing agreements should be carefully reviewed and negotiated when possible. Proactive negotiation can protect your practice from undue liability and risks associated with AI.

Key Contract Considerations:

Clarify data security and confidentiality obligations.
Define clear expectations about tool performance and accuracy.
Include indemnification clauses and limitations of liability tailored to AI-specific risks.
Specify support and training services included with the AI tool.

Continuous Learning and Adjustment

Given AI's rapidly evolving nature, regular review and adaptation of your procurement and risk management practices are essential. Remain informed about technological advancements, legal considerations, and industry best practices.

Integrating AI into your law practice can provide significant efficiencies and competitive advantages, but careful planning and informed decision-making are critical. By following these structured guidelines, attorneys can effectively leverage AI while mitigating associated risks.

Key Considerations in Managing AI Risk

Effective risk management for attorneys requires recognizing that not all uses of AI tools carry equal risk—some legal tasks integrate AI safely with minimal ethical and practical concerns, while others present significant potential liabilities.

Risk Level	Examples of AI Use	Key Ethical and Practical Considerations
Least Risk	General Administrative Tasks: -Scheduling (without sensitive case details) - Internal firm workflow management	- Minimal confidentiality risk - Low potential for inaccuracies affecting client outcomes - Easily verified outputs
Low Risk	Timekeeping and Billing: - Automated time tracking - Invoice generation and review	- Moderate confidentiality risk; sensitive client information might be disclosed if tools are cloud-based or shared externally - Use vetted, secure AI platforms and ensure data encryption and strict access controls
Moderate Risk	Brainstorming and Meeting Notes: - Generating case strategies - Summarizing confidential client meetings - Capturing sensitive brainstorming sessions	-Moderate confidentiality concerns; client strategy, litigation planning, and sensitive internal discussions could be exposed - Confidentiality safeguards necessary, including local processing or secure, vetted AI providers with transparent privacy policies - Thorough staff training on appropriate data inputs
High Risk	Research and Document Drafting: - General legal research - Routine correspondence and basic documents - Drafting standard contracts or forms	- Independent human verification required to ensure accuracy and compliance - Confidentiality risk increases if sensitive client details are used as inputs; consider anonymizing data

DATA SECURITY AND AI

Here’s an example of how an attorney can employ secure data practices in their firm:

Due Diligence and AI Vendor Selection

Use a paid, enterprise account from a leading, reputable vendor. (OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, or a known legal service like Westlaw or LexisNexis)
Get a written agreement from the vendor specifying the data security and privacy terms.

Client Consent and Confidentiality Agreements

The attorney informs the client explicitly about using an AI tool, clearly explaining the benefits and potential risks.
They obtain explicit client consent through written acknowledgment, and the client engagement letter includes language authorizing AI usage, specifying data handling protocols, and clearly delineating responsibilities.

Data Minimization and Anonymization

Remove or anonymize sensitive client identifiers where feasible before processing documents through AI. For instance, client names or highly sensitive financial details not relevant to the AI analysis are redacted prior to upload.

Regular Auditing and Monitoring

The firm conducts routine internal audits of AI usage logs, access records, and security protocols to detect any irregularities or breaches.
If irregularities occur, the attorney immediately initiates the established incident response plan, notifies the client, and takes corrective action.

Data Deletion Policies

Once the analysis is complete and the engagement ends, the attorney ensures the client's data is fully deleted from the AI vendor's systems, requesting formal confirmation from the vendor to document compliance with deletion procedures.

Regular Training

Implement ongoing, mandatory training programs for attorneys and support staff focused on secure data practices and responsible AI use.

AI Policy and Governance

Developing effective policies governing the use of AI is essential for law firms to manage ethical, legal, and security risks associated with AI technologies. These policies help ensure compliance with professional responsibilities, protect client confidentiality, and provide clear guidance to attorneys and staff, promoting consistency, accountability, and trustworthiness in the firm's AI-driven practices.

Establish Internal AI Usage Policies

Clearly define permitted AI tools, use cases, and explicitly prohibit risky practices such as entering confidential data into unsecured platforms.

Require mandatory training, supervision, vendor vetting, and ongoing verification of AI-generated work.

Data Privacy Compliance

Adhere to applicable data privacy laws (e.g., TDPSA, HIPAA, TMRPA), ensuring AI vendors meet stringent security and privacy standards.

Minimize data privacy risks by limiting sensitive data inputs and enforcing strong internal security measures.

Ethical Guidelines for AI Use

Maintain ethical compliance with key duties (competence, confidentiality, communication, supervision, fees), emphasizing rigorous verification and client transparency.

Take measures to prevent bias, unauthorized practice of law, and unethical billing practices in AI usage.

Client Communication Protocols

Clearly and transparently disclose AI use early, obtaining informed consent when AI significantly impacts representation or involves client data.

Regularly document all communications regarding AI use and update clients as practices evolve.

Effective Governance Frameworks

Form a dedicated governance body responsible for AI oversight, risk management, vendor assessments, training, compliance audits, and incident responses.

Regularly review, update policies, and maintain thorough documentation of all governance-related activities.

Client Communication Regarding AI Use

Transparent and effective communication with clients about the use of AI in their matters is essential for maintaining trust, managing expectations, and fulfilling ethical obligations, particularly the duty to communicate under TDRPC Rule 1.03.

Guidelines for Client Communication Protocols

Develop Standard Disclosures. Draft template paragraphs for engagement letters or standard email language to initiate the conversation about AI use.

Train Attorneys and Staff. Ensure everyone who interacts with clients knows how to discuss AI use transparently and answer common questions.

Identify "Significant Uses." Establish internal guidelines on which AI uses are significant enough to require explicit client discussion and consent.

Obtain Written Consent. Implement procedures for obtaining and documenting written consent whenever feasible for significant AI uses.

Be Prepared for Questions. Anticipate client concerns about privacy, accuracy, and cost.

Document Discussion. Record details of AI discussions in the client file.

Example Client Communication Snippet (for Engagement Letter)

"To provide you with efficient and high-quality legal services, our firm may utilize advanced technology tools, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). For example, AI might assist us with tasks such as reviewing large volumes of documents, organizing case information, or performing initial legal research.

We want to assure you that any AI tools used will be carefully selected and implemented with strict adherence to our professional ethical obligations, including the protection of your confidential information. We vet our AI vendors to ensure they have robust data security and privacy measures in place. Your sensitive information will not be shared with public AI platforms without explicit safeguards and your consent.

Please understand that AI is a tool to assist our attorneys; it does not replace the judgment and expertise of your legal team. All AI-generated content will be thoroughly reviewed and verified by a licensed attorney before it is used in your case or shared with third parties.

We are committed to transparency regarding our use of technology. Please feel free to ask us any questions you may have about how AI may be used in your matter. If we propose using AI for a task that significantly impacts your case, we will discuss it with you further to obtain your informed consent."

Summary: AI in Legal Practice

Artificial intelligence offers substantial opportunities for enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and effectiveness in legal practice. Attorneys can employ AI tools in the following tasks:

Reading

AI accelerates document and contract reviews by rapidly identifying critical clauses, risks, and key information.

AI tools summarize case law, statutes, transcripts, and discovery documents, significantly speeding up legal research and deposition preparation.

Writing

AI drafts initial versions of legal documents, correspondence, and research memos, saving significant attorney time.

AI assists in editing, citation-checking, and organizing written work, improving document quality and reducing manual effort.

Learning

AI simplifies continuing education (CLE) management, personalizing course recommendations and tracking compliance.

AI enhances knowledge management by making institutional knowledge and prior work easily accessible through intuitive searches and summarization.

Operations

AI streamlines client intake, scheduling, and docketing, reducing manual administrative tasks and improving accuracy.

AI automates time tracking, billing processes, and provides analytical insights for better strategic decision-making and efficiency.

Some legal tasks integrate AI safely with minimal ethical and practical concerns, while others present significant potential liabilities. When deciding when and how to use AI tools in your practice, consider the ethical requirements for using AI in the legal context and implement sound policies and procedures for mitigating the potential risk.

Using AI to Benefit Access to Justice

Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers significant opportunities to enhance access to justice by increasing efficiency and expanding the reach of legal services, especially in legal aid and pro bono contexts. AI tools can automate document drafting, assist with legal research, streamline client intake processes, and provide multilingual legal assistance, helping attorneys manage heavy caseloads and empowering self-represented individuals. However, integrating AI requires careful consideration of ethical standards, data security, transparency, and continuous human oversight.

Guidelines for Using AI in Access to Justice Cases

Clearly Define Use Cases

Begin with low-risk, supportive tasks - for example, summarizing large documents, converting legal jargon to plain language, or drafting a form letter that a lawyer will finalize.

Choose Reliable AI Tools

Select professional-grade, legal-specific AI tools trained on vetted legal data to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Maintain Human Oversight

Always involve qualified legal professionals to verify AI outputs and ensure professional judgment is applied in all cases.

Ensure Data Security and Confidentiality

Vet AI systems thoroughly for privacy protections and consider anonymizing sensitive client data when using AI tools.

Provide Continuous Training and Support

Regularly educate attorneys and staff on AI capabilities, limitations, ethical considerations, and effective prompt engineering.

Promote Transparency with Clients

Clearly communicate to clients when AI tools are used in their cases, explaining how these tools assist in providing legal services.

Monitor and Address AI Bias

Regularly test AI systems for biases, particularly to ensure fair and equitable treatment across diverse client populations.

Collaborate and Share Best Practices

Engage with the broader access-to-justice community, sharing experiences, tools, and ethical guidelines to collectively improve AI implementation.

Pilot, Evaluate, and Iterate

Implement AI systems in controlled pilots, collect data on performance and outcomes, and continuously refine based on feedback and results.

Maintain Human-Centered Service

Ensure AI complements rather than replaces personal interaction, maintaining empathy and meaningful human support, particularly in sensitive or complex legal matters.

AI offers tremendous promise to improve access to justice by enhancing the capacity of lawyers and empowering the public with information. By educating themselves with up-to-date resources, learning from real implementations, following best practices, utilizing the right tools, and adhering to ethical principles, Texas attorneys can confidently integrate AI into their legal aid and pro bono work.

Responsible AI Use for Judges: Practical Guidelines

Artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) tools, like ChatGPT, are becoming increasingly relevant to the judiciary. These guidelines provide practical, non-technical advice for judicial officers and their staff in state and federal courts to responsibly integrate AI while upholding ethical standards and judicial integrity.

Core Principles for Judicial Use of AI

An independent, impartial, and ethical judiciary is foundational to justice. While AI tools can support judicial processes, ultimate decision-making authority remains firmly with judicial officers. Judges must ensure AI enhances, rather than compromises, their impartiality and independence.

Judges Must:

Maintain professional competence in understanding and effectively using AI tools.

Use AI to supplement, not replace, essential human judgment.

Verify all AI-generated information for accuracy and reliability.

Understanding AI: Strengths and Limitations

Unlike traditional tools or search engines, generative AI systems produce responses based on learned patterns from data, not through human-like reasoning or judgment.

Key Points to Remember:

AI does not exercise judgment or discretion-critical components of judicial decision-making.

AI-generated responses can be incorrect or misleading ("hallucinations"). Always verify outputs.

Responses from AI can vary depending on prompts and usage, highlighting the need for careful input.

Avoiding Common AI Pitfalls

Automation Bias

Avoid automatically trusting AI outputs. Always independently confirm information.

Confirmation Bias

Don't accept AI responses simply because they align with pre-existing beliefs or assumptions.

Protecting Confidentiality and Privacy

AI tools might store and utilize the information entered to further train their algorithms, potentially compromising confidentiality.

Best Practices:

Avoid entering sensitive information (e.g., personally identifiable information, privileged or confidential data) unless using a verified, secure platform.

Regularly review terms of service for privacy and security protections.

Consider whether the AI system retains or deletes prompt histories after use, and adjust settings accordingly.

Checklist for Responsible AI Use by Judicial Officers

Verify Accuracy. Always independently validate AI-generated information.

Understand Limitations. Regularly educate yourself and your team about AI capabilities and risks.

Maintain Control. Ensure AI serves as an aid, not a decision-maker.

Safeguard Privacy. Do not input confidential or sensitive data unless securely verified.

Follow Local Rules. Comply with disclosure obligations concerning AI use.

Staying Updated

Technology evolves rapidly. These guidelines should be reviewed and updated regularly to incorporate new insights, best practices, and improvements in AI technology.