Lawletter Vol. 49. No. 4

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: ABA Guidance on AI Use for Lawyers

Cassidy Crockett-Verba—Senior Attorney

         The American Bar Association (ABA) has recently released Formal Opinion 512 addressing the increased use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) programs, specifically Generative AI or “GAI” in the legal profession.[1] A GAI tool that generates text is a “prediction tool[] that generate[s] a statistically probable output.”[2] The Opinion focuses on five major areas—competency, confidentiality, communication, supervisory responsibilities, and fee schedules, highlighting what lawyers can do to protect themselves and their clients.

Competence

         Just as with the regular practice of law, there is no need to be an expert in AI to be competent in the meaning of Model Rule 1.1. However, lawyers do need to have an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of GAI, drawing on the guidance of others as needed. GAI lacks the ability to reason and is subject to mistakes. GAI tools can assist a lawyer in laying the groundwork for a case but the attorney is always fully responsible for all work done for a client. Especially while GAI is in its infancy, lawyers who use GAI tools must review the output as AI cannot replace the judgment and experience of a trained attorney.