Here is my recent Daily Record column. My past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.
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Alaska Joins the AI Ethics Conversation
Another day, another legal technology ethics opinion.
Now that’s a phrase I never would have predicted I’d write just a few years ago. I’ve been writing about legal technology and ethics for many years now, and the overlap between the two concepts has traditionally been quite limited.
Sure, legal ethics opinions focused on technology would trickle in periodically, but we certainly weren’t faced with a deluge of committees opining on cloud computing, social media, and cybersecurity issues. Instead, legal tech issues were often an afterthought, with bar associations taking note only when specifically asked to by members.
But ever since OpenAI released ChatGPT 3.5 in the fall of 2022, it’s hard to go anywhere without stumbling over another ethics opinion on how to ensure compliant generative artificial intelligence (GAI) adoption in law firms.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m not complaining. It’s about time our profession got serious and curious about legal technology and the many ways it can benefit legal firm workflows. But the sheer volume and frequency of opinions issued on GAI have been surprising, and sometimes, it’s been hard to keep up.
So if it seems like I’m constantly writing about new opinions on GAI, that’s why. Honestly, I’m okay with it. Hopefully, you are, too.
And speaking of GAI ethics opinions, there’s yet another one to discuss, this time from Alaska. Earlier this year, the Alaska Bar Association handed down Ethics Opinion 2025-1, which addressed (surprise!) “General Artificial Intelligence & the Practice of Law.”
The Committee answered a number of questions about ethical GAI use, many of which should be familiar to you by now. Can lawyers ethically use GAI? Must lawyers review GAI output? Can confidential information be input into GAI? Can the cost of GAI tools be passed on to clients? Should legal fees be reduced if lawyers save time using GAI? Must managing lawyers carefully supervise the use of GAI by those they manage within the firm?
At this point, their answers to these queries are clear-cut and shouldn’t be surprising. Yes, lawyers can ethically use GAI. All output should be carefully reviewed. If the GAI tool you’re interacting with uses your inputs to train GAI models, you cannot include confidential client data in your queries. Time saved using GAI cannot be billed to clients, and in the absence of client consent, time spent training on GAI tools cannot be passed to clients, nor can the cost of GAI tools. And, of course, lawyers must adequately oversee GAI usage by those whom they supervise.
The opinion also offered other helpful—if unsurprising—conclusions. For example, if a court requires disclosure regarding the use of GAI tools, you must comply. Lawyers should be aware of and screen for bias in GAI outputs. Finally, lawyers have an ethical obligation to maintain technology competence, a duty that is particularly important in the GAI era. The Committee explained that “Lawyers should be cognizant that GGAI is still in its infancy and…should continue to develop GGAI technological competency and learn its benefits and risks when used in the practice of law.”
There is other useful ethics guidance in the opinion, so it’s worth a read to remind you of the many ethical issues at stake when using GAI in your practice. But don’t let the sheer number of ethical issues serve as a barrier to adoption.
With all of the ethical guidance now available, the roadmap to compliant GAI adoption is as clear as the many benefits offered. In the words of the Alaska Bar Association: “GAI-powered software can quickly perform legal research, draft pleadings, analyze contracts, and review and summarize documents, and it has the potential to greatly increase a lawyer’s efficiency.” There’s no better time than now to dive in, experiment, and discover how GAI tools can streamline your law practice.
Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney, author, journalist, and Principal Legal Insight Strategist at 8am, the team behind 8am MyCase, LawPay, CasePeer, and DocketWise, practice management and payment processing solutions for lawyers. She is the nationally-recognized author of “Cloud Computing for Lawyers” (2012) and co-authors “Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier” (2010), both published by the American Bar Association. She also co-authors “Criminal Law in New York,” a Thomson Reuters treatise. She writes regular columns for Above the Law, ABA Journal, and The Daily Record, has authored hundreds of articles for other publications, and regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law and emerging technologies. She is an ABA Legal Rebel, and is listed on the Fastcase 50 and ABA LTRC Women in Legal Tech. She can be contacted at niki.black@mycase.com.