Warn a client who wants a tool to write a statement for the court
Key facts
- Human involvement
- RedLawyer-led
- How AI is used
- List the risks from Opinion 512 and the California 2026 guidance: confidentiality, invented facts, and a statement the client does not understand. Write no sentence of the statement and no outline of it.
- What the lawyer must review
- A statement the client signs for the court is the client's evidence. You do not hand the client an outline of that evidence, and the tool writes none of it. Opinion 512 keeps confidentiality and judgment with you. The California 2026 guidance says candor to the tribunal cannot be delegated and that citations are verified by the lawyer. You tell the client, in your own words, that you will take the proof and write or settle the statement yourself.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Supporting preparation only. Consider narrowly defined preparation support after confirming the tool’s capability and permitted scope. The tool writes nothing into the document. Substantive advice, judgement and any restricted content remain with the responsible human. |
| Lawyer | Perform the substantive analysis and decisions. Independently check any permitted supporting work and approve the exact output for its intended use. |
Checklist
- Open each relied-on authority independently. Confirm its existence, current status, proposition and any quotation or pinpoint reference.
- Confirm that the actual tool, feature and processing terms permit use of this information, including access, retention, training and disclosure conditions.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.