---
title: "Evaluate a legal artificial-intelligence tool for an in-house team"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/in-house-general-counsel/evaluate-a-legal-ai-tool-for-the-in-house-team/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A40-B7-1-US"
practice_area: "In-House / General Counsel"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Evaluate a legal artificial-intelligence tool for an in-house team

> From the vendor materials the lawyer supplies, answer only the questions the lawyer has written on confidentiality, retention, training use, and who may review the output. Leave the approval line blank.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/in-house-general-counsel/evaluate-a-legal-ai-tool-for-the-in-house-team/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [In-House / General Counsel](https://ailawframework.com/practice/in-house-general-counsel.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the vendor materials the lawyer supplies, answer only the questions the lawyer has written on confidentiality, retention, training use, and who may review the output. Leave the approval line blank. |
| What the lawyer must review | ABA Model Rule 1.1 requires competent representation, including the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation. ABA Model Rule 1.6(a) provides that a lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation unless the client gives informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized, or paragraph (b) permits it. ABA Formal Opinion 512 (29 July 2024) requires a lawyer who uses a generative tool to understand it well enough to use it competently, to protect confidentiality, and to supervise the work. A completed questionnaire is not approval of the tool. The general counsel decides whether the tool may be used and on what information. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Evaluate a legal AI tool for the in-house team](https://ailawframework.com/practice/in-house-general-counsel/evaluate-a-legal-ai-tool-for-the-in-house-team.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the vendor materials the lawyer supplies, answer only the questions the lawyer has written on confidentiality, retention, training use, and who may review the output. Leave the approval line blank.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- The answers come from the vendor materials the lawyer supplies. A missing answer stays blank.
- Each new tool is a new evaluation. The questionnaire does not clear a tool because an earlier tool was cleared.

## Sources

- [ABA Model Rule 1.1, Competence](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_1_competence/) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Model Rule 1.6, Confidentiality of Information](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_6_confidentiality_of_information/) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [AI vendor due diligence questionnaire (United States)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/in-house-general-counsel/us-ai-vendor-due-diligence-questionnaire.md) | Checklist | Yellow | Questions for a vendor of a generative or agentic AI tool, drawn from the confidentiality, security, retention and supervision points in Formal Opinion 512 and Model Rule 5.3.… |
| [Cover letter sending an AI vendor questionnaire (United States)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/in-house-general-counsel/us-vendor-questionnaire-cover-letter.md) | Letter | Yellow | A cover letter that sends the due diligence questions and says the company will not put its information into the tool until the contract matches the answers the company relies on. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*