In the modern legal landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way attorneys practice law. Law firms may use AI to assist with reviewing documents, performing research, and writing briefs or other legal documents. While AI offers benefits such as increased efficiency, its use has raised some ethical and legal concerns, and law firms will need to make sure it is used responsibly.
Ethical Concerns Related to AI in Law
The integration of AI into the legal field brings several ethical concerns to the forefront:
- Bias: AI systems can inadvertently perpetuate biases present in the data they are trained on, unfairly favoring certain groups of people or limiting the perspectives on certain legal issues.
- Confidentiality: If attorneys use confidential client information to train AI systems, this data could inadvertently be exposed.
- Transparency: The “black box” nature of AI systems means their decision-making processes are not always fully understood. People who use AI may not understand what information was processed or how certain conclusions were reached.
- Competence: Attorneys must possess a sufficient understanding of AI tools to ensure that they can be used correctly. Using AI without following the proper guidelines can lead to errors or “hallucinations” in which information about legal cases or laws is fabricated.
- Accountability: Attorneys may rely on information generated by AI systems without verifying that it is correct. If incorrect information is submitted during legal proceedings, attorneys and law firms may be held accountable for these errors.
Judicial and Court Responses to AI Concerns
Judges and courts are increasingly addressing the implications of AI in legal proceedings. Some judges have required attorneys to disclose whether generative AI has been used to prepare complaints, motions, answers, or briefs.
They have also required attorneys to certify that legal citations have been verified as accurate. Multiple lawyers have been sanctioned for the misuse of AI, including cases where fines have been issued or attorneys’ licenses have been suspended.
Guidelines for Using AI
While bar associations in multiple jurisdictions have issued guidance on the use of AI, one of the most comprehensive explorations of the issue was recently issued in an opinion by the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Philadelphia Bar Association.
In addition to reviewing the potential concerns related to the use of AI, this opinion provided a set of guidelines that should be followed:
- Truth and accuracy: Attorneys should uphold principles of integrity and honesty, ensuring that AI-generated content is as accurate as possible.
- Verification of citations: Lawyers should review all citations to statutes, case law, legal regulations, or scholarly articles used in legal documents to ensure that they are correct.
- Ensuring accuracy and addressing bias: Attorneys should take steps to ensure that data used to train AI systems is unbiased and obtained ethically while also meeting the proper standards for accuracy.
- Competence: Attorneys must understand the AI tools they use and their limitations. Continuous education on AI advancements is essential.
- Confidentiality: The use of AI tools must comply with ethical obligations to protect client confidentiality. Attorneys should ensure that AI providers adhere to strict data security protocols, and they must also make sure confidential information will not be shared or used in a way that violates attorney-client privilege.
- Conflicts of interest: Attorneys must identify any potential conflicts that may arise when using AI and ensure that these issues are addressed correctly.
- Client communication: Lawyers should provide clients with clear explanations of how AI tools are used and how they may impact the outcomes of their cases. It may be necessary to obtain consent from clients before using AI tools in their cases.
- Avoiding misuse of AI: Attorneys should take steps to ensure that AI is not used to deceive others or manipulate legal processes or the outcomes of cases.
- Ethical standards: Lawyers must remain informed about the rules and regulations related to the use of AI and ensure that they are complying with ethical guidelines.
- Professional judgment: AI should be used as a tool to assist in an attorney’s practices, but it should not replace the informed analysis and judgment provided by an experienced lawyer.
- Billing practices: While AI may save time and increase efficiency, law firms should make sure expenses related to the use of these tools are reasonable and disclose these expenses to clients.
- Transparency: Attorneys should disclose their use of AI to clients and, when necessary, to the court. If necessary, they may need to address the uncertainties about information generated using AI or the limitations of these tools.
Demonstrating Experience and Competence With the Help of Elite Lawyer
Attorneys must remain abreast of the latest legal developments and the tools that can help them improve their legal practice. Elite Lawyer recognizes attorneys who provide their clients with outstanding legal services, including those who use AI to improve efficiency and streamline their procedures.
Attorneys who are included in the Elite Lawyer directory have demonstrated that they have the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to provide effective legal help for clients. To learn how to become an Elite lawyer, contact us at 833-403-5483.
