United States (states adopting the Model Rules) · other
ABA Model Rules: what it requires, and the records to keep
The Model Rules are the template for state lawyer ethics codes, and their duties of competence, communication, confidentiality, candor and supervision apply to any AI a lawyer uses. ABA Formal Opinion 512 (2024) maps these rules onto generative AI, and courts have sanctioned lawyers who filed AI-fabricated citations.
01 / What it requires
What ABA Model Rules requires
Lawyers and law firms licensed in jurisdictions that have adopted versions of the ABA Model Rules (nearly every US state).
- 01Rule 1.1 and Comment 8: understand the benefits and risks of AI tools used, and verify their output.
- 02Rule 1.4: consult clients about the means used, including AI use that affects fees or significant decisions.
- 03Rule 1.6(c): make reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized disclosure of client information entered into AI tools.
- 04Rule 3.3: make no false statements of law or fact to a tribunal, including AI-generated citations, and correct any made.
- 05Rule 5.1: partners and managers must have firm measures, such as AI-use policies, ensuring lawyers comply.
- 06Rule 5.3: supervise nonlawyer assistance, including AI vendors and tools, so conduct is compatible with the lawyer's duties.
02 / AI work
Where it touches AI work
No Model Rule names AI, but the 2012 technology amendments and Opinion 512 make clear the existing duties cover generative AI. Filing unverified AI output has led to court sanctions, such as Mata v. Avianca (S.D.N.Y. 2023).
03 / Dates
The dates that matter
ABA adopts the Model Rules of Professional Conduct
Technology amendments: Rule 1.1 Comment 8, Rule 1.6(c), Rule 5.3 retitled
Mata v. Avianca sanctions for AI-fabricated citations
ABA Formal Opinion 512 applies the rules to generative AI
04 / Enforcement
Who enforces it
State supreme courts and their disciplinary bodies; sanctions range from private admonition to disbarment. Courts separately sanction filings under rules such as FRCP 11.
05 / Records
Records an organisation keeps
What an auditor or an inquiry usually asks to see. Your obligations depend on your role and your facts.
- 01Firm AI-use policy and approved-tool list
- 02Vendor confidentiality and data-use review for each AI tool
- 03Records of human verification of AI-drafted filings
- 04Client consent or disclosure records for AI use
Optional evidence · where Planisphere fits
Keep a record anyone can check
When your team meets a duty, Planisphere can seal the event it reports as a receipt.
A disclosure shown, a review signed, a model change approved: the event your system reports.
The event becomes a sealed receipt, dated and attributed to whoever is signed in.
Paste the receipt into Verify. No account or key.
A record supports your compliance evidence process. It is not a legal finding or a certification. Systems that call Planisphere's gate API can also hold or refuse an action before it runs.
SOURCES
Go back to the source
American Bar Association
American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility
American Bar Association
CHANGE LOG
What changed, and when
Rebuilt from primary sources; facts checked on this date.
Related: ABA Model Rules vs FRE 702 · ABA Model Rules for law AI workflows · ABA Formal Op. 512