---
title: "Update a firm precedent after a change in United States law"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/knowledge-management/update-a-precedent-after-a-law-change/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "KM-B12-01-US"
practice_area: "Knowledge Management"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Update a firm precedent after a change in United States law

> Mark each citation and defined term in the precedent and list the new instrument the lawyer supplies beside the old one. Do not rewrite a clause.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/knowledge-management/update-a-precedent-after-a-law-change/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

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

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Knowledge Management](https://ailawframework.com/practice/knowledge-management.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Mark each citation and defined term in the precedent and list the new instrument the lawyer supplies beside the old one. Do not rewrite a clause. |
| What the lawyer must review | You decide whether the law has changed and you edit the precedent. Model Rule 1.1 and Comment 8 require competence, including the benefits and risks of relevant technology. Formal Opinion 512 requires independent verification of generated output and warns that tools produce citations to nonexistent opinions. Open the new statute, rule or opinion in an official source. Model Rules 5.1 and 5.3, as discussed in Opinion 512, require managerial lawyers to set policies on permissible use of generative tools and supervisory lawyers to train lawyers and nonlawyers who use them. A precedent that will be filed or signed later is still your work. Do not publish an unreviewed clause into the bank. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Update a precedent after a law change](https://ailawframework.com/practice/knowledge-management/update-a-precedent-after-a-law-change.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Mark each citation and defined term in the precedent and list the new instrument the lawyer supplies beside the old one. Do not rewrite a clause.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- The text of Model Rules 5.1 and 5.3 was not opened separately. The duties stated here are those Opinion 512 describes. Open the rules before quoting them.
- State amendments differ. A precedent updated to the Model Rules is not updated for every admitting state.

## Sources

- [ABA Model Rule 1.1 and Comment 8](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_1_competence/comment_on_rule_1_1/) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512 (29 July 2024), including supervisory duties under Model Rules 5.1 and 5.3](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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Legislation and citation currency audit worksheet](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/knowledge-management/legislation-currency-audit.md) | Checklist | Yellow | Worksheet for checking citations in a precedent or know-how note against the official instrument or decision, and for recording whether the precedent is still safe to retrieve. |

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.*