NYSBA Releases In-Depth Guidelines To Advise Attorneys on Ethical Use of AI
10.31.2026
Guidelines on artificial intelligence approved by the New York State Bar Association will help avoid the unauthorized practice of law, ensure that legal decisions are in human hands, and reduce bias in legal proceedings.
On Saturday, the New York State Bar Association’s governing body, the House of Delegates, adopted the report “Legal Ethics Guidelines for Lawyers’ Use of Artificial Intelligence.”
“Generative AI is indelibly changing the practice of law. As part of our mission to be the leading voice for the legal profession, we are providing clear guidelines on the use of AI tools as a resource so attorneys can use AI responsibly and ethically in their practices,” said Taa Grays, president of the New York State Bar Association. “The guidelines can help attorneys avoid possible perils of using AI including inadvertently practicing law in a jurisdiction where they are not licensed or failing to notify clients or the courts of AI use.”
The association is urging attorneys who use AI tools to check that the results do not reflect biased input from training data, design and deployment. There is concern that an AI can replicate already-existing systemic inequities – like if its training material uses sentencing information with racial disparities. This is especially relevant if the tool is being used in a way that could affect a person’s rights, access, opportunity, or treatment.
The report also advises attorneys who use AI that they may charge fees for time spent verifying an AI tool’s output, but not for learning how to use it. It is important to keep fees reasonable and disclose specific charges to clients. In addition, acquiring an AI tool is an overhead expense – so its cost may not be billed to a client, unless it is for a service specially incurred for that case.
Attorneys are also responsible for carefully supervising non-lawyers and vendors who use AI tools. While the New York Rules of Professional Conduct do not specifically address AI-generated legal work, association guidelines extrapolate that an attorney is still responsible for ensuring that a non-lawyer’s work is up to standards – even if the “non-lawyer” is an AI tool or system.
The report also covers:
- Conflicts of interest from a tool using data that pertains to a party in a case.
- Notifying all parties when using AI for recording and summaries.
- Disclosing the use of AI for court submissions – a policy many courts already have in place.
- Reviewing the output of agentic AI systems – tools that are designed to complete a task or accomplish a specific goal without human input.
Vivian Wesson, executive vice president, general counsel, and chief compliance officer of The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), serves as chair of the Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, which authored the report.
“While technology keeps evolving, it is important to still follow the ethical principles of the law,” said Wesson. “Our committee developed this report to aid attorneys who are using AI tools and systems to enhance their practices. We aim to help lawyers utilize the technology while fulfilling their responsibility to their clients, the courts, and the administration of justice.”
