How to use AI for supervising junior lawyers' AI use in Australia

Steps

1. Write the supervision rule in the policy

   Say which tools a junior may use, on which work, and what they must bring to the reviewer: the prompt, the output, and the authorities they opened. The joint checklist is the question list for the tool. Queensland Guidance Statement No. 37 is the confidentiality rule they have to be able to apply. A junior who cannot explain the tool should not be using it on a file.

2. Review the work, not the confidence

   Read the draft against the file and the cases, as you would any other junior’s draft. Ask which sentences the tool wrote and which cases the junior opened. The Law Society of New South Wales guide and the citation guide both reject a second model as the check. The Uniform Law statement leaves the file with the principal who lets it go out.

3. Record the training

   Note who was shown the policy, the approved tools and the prohibited inputs, and the date. When the court notes or the vendor terms change, do it again. Training that is not recorded will be forgotten the first time someone asks.

Record the checks on a task checklist · Open the court note for the forum

Sources

• Uniform Law regulators: Statement on AI use
• LSNSW: Solicitor's guide to responsible AI use
• QLS Guidance Statement No 37
• Joint law societies AI selection and use checklist (2026)