How to write an AI use policy for your law firm

How to write an AI use policy for your law firm is a question that most transactional practices are now confronting, whether they are actively deploying AI tools or simply trying to manage ad hoc use by individual fee earners. A policy that addresses the real risks clearly and enables appropriate use confidently is more valuable than one that either prohibits everything or ignores the compliance questions entirely.

What a policy needs to cover

An effective AI use policy for a law firm needs to address four things: which tools are permitted, how data is handled, what supervision is required and what training fee earners need before using AI on live matters.

The permitted tools section is the most immediately practical. Without a list of approved tools and a clear statement that unapproved tools should not be used on client matters, fee earners will use whatever they have personal access to, including consumer products that do not meet the firm's confidentiality or data protection requirements. The policy needs to make this boundary clear and explain why it exists.

Data handling and supervision requirements

The data handling section should explain what types of client information can be processed through AI tools and what the data protection requirements are for approved tools. It should also address the question of how AI-generated output is treated: not as a final work product, but as a draft that requires qualified lawyer review before it is used or sent to a client or counterparty. The supervision requirement is not a statement of distrust in the tool; it is an acknowledgement of the professional obligation that applies to all work that leaves the firm.

Training and review

A policy without training is a compliance document without a compliance programme. Fee earners need to understand not just what the rules are but why they exist, how to identify when AI output needs more careful review and how to raise concerns about specific outputs. The policy should specify a review cadence so that it is updated as the technology and regulatory environment evolve.

Scriptum provides customers with guidance on developing internal policies for AI use in a transactional context. To discuss what that looks like for your firm, book a demo and we can walk through the detail.