Law Firm AI Policy Template
Every firm needs a written AI policy, and most do not have one. This is an editable starting point, organized around the duties in ABA Formal Opinion 512.
- Fourteen sections covering purpose, scope, approved tools, confidentiality, competence, verification, supervision, client communication, billing, prohibited uses, security, incidents, ownership, and a signed acknowledgment.
- Bracketed choices where firms differ, such as engagement-letter disclosure versus matter-by-matter informed consent.
- Appendix A: an Approved Tools List that records which plan is approved for client information and when its terms were reviewed.
- Appendix B: a six-step adoption checklist.
Editable Word document. Free. A starting point, not legal advice: have the attorney responsible for ethics compliance at your firm review anything you adopt.
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Section outline
- Purpose
- Who and what this policy covers
- Approved tools
- Confidentiality and client information
- Competence
- Verification and candor
- Supervision
- Communication with clients
- Fees and billing
- Prohibited uses
- Security and records
- Incidents
- Ownership, review, and enforcement
- Acknowledgment
A sample section
9. Fees and billing
On hourly matters, bill only for time actually worked. If an AI tool reduces a task from three hours to one, bill one hour. Do not bill for time saved.
Time spent learning to use AI tools in general is not billable to clients. Time spent reviewing and verifying AI-assisted work on a client's matter is billable as the legal work that it is.
The cost of AI tools is treated as overhead unless the client has agreed in writing, in advance, to a specific charge.
For flat-fee, value-based, and contingent matters, fees must remain reasonable under Rule 1.5 and must be explained to the client clearly. Bar guidance on this point differs by state (see, for example, Virginia Legal Ethics Opinion 1901), so confirm the position in [STATE] before finalizing this section.