Flag a settlement-negotiation note before it is indexed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Mark offers, acceptances, and statements made during compromise negotiations, with the page. Do not treat the note as proof of liability or amount.
- What the lawyer must review
- Federal Rule of Evidence 408(a) provides that evidence of furnishing, promising, or offering, or accepting, a valuable consideration in compromising or attempting to compromise a claim, and conduct or a statement made during compromise negotiations about the claim, is not admissible on behalf of any party to prove or disprove the validity or amount of a disputed claim or to impeach by a prior inconsistent statement or a contradiction. There is an exception when the evidence is offered in a criminal case and the negotiations related to a claim by a public office in the exercise of its regulatory, investigative, or enforcement authority. Rule 408(b) allows admission for another purpose, such as proving a witness's bias, negating a contention of undue delay, or proving an effort to obstruct a criminal investigation or prosecution. Model Rule 1.6 still bars revealing the note as client information. You decide whether the note stays out of the know-how bank.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Do not begin AI assistance until the responsible lawyer has defined and confirmed its permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Open each relied-on authority independently. Confirm its existence, current status, proposition and any quotation or pinpoint reference.
- Confirm that the wording reflects the client’s instructions and contains no unintended admission, concession or commitment. Check the recipient and tone.
- Verify the applicable jurisdiction and the version of each relevant law, rule or instrument in force at the material time.
- 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.