---
title: "Using generative AI in Texas legal practice: ethics checklist"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/ai-decision-systems/us-tx-genai-ethics-checklist"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a45-us-tx-genai-ethics-checklist"
area_id: "A45"
kind: "checklist"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
law_stated_as_at: "2026-11-08"
---

# Using generative AI in Texas legal practice: ethics checklist

> Checklist of what Texas's own sources say about lawyers using generative AI: Professional Ethics Committee Opinion 705 on competence, confidentiality, verification and fees, plus the Supreme Court's proposed Rule 13…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/ai-decision-systems/us-tx-genai-ethics-checklist  
Law stated as at: 2026-11-08

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

Checklist of what Texas's own sources say about lawyers using generative AI: Professional Ethics Committee Opinion 705 on competence, confidentiality, verification and fees, plus the Supreme Court's proposed Rule 13 signing duty (not final; rule text as recorded in this library's Texas record).

## Key facts

- Kind: Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Practice area: [AI decision systems](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/ai-decision-systems.md)
- Jurisdictions: United States, Texas
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-11-08
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-11-08 against the 5 authorities it cites, for United States and Texas.

## When to use it

Use when a Texas lawyer or firm sets up, audits or trains staff on generative AI use. Opinion 705 of the Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas is the main source. Pair it with the firm's AI policy, engagement letter and citation-checking procedure, and watch the proposed Rule 13 amendments.

## How AI may be used

A tool may list the firm's AI tools and match them to each point; a lawyer confirms the Texas sources are current, decides whether each point is met and signs off.

**AI may:**

- List the firm's AI tools and the matters they are used on, from the firm's own register
- Match each tool to the checklist points and flag points with no control
- Draft staff reminders that quote the named Texas sources accurately

**AI must not:**

- Must not mark a point as met, a source as current or a citation as checked
- Must not decide whether a tool's terms protect confidential client information
- Must not add duties that the named sources do not state
- Must not treat this checklist as a substitute for the named sources or for a later opinion, rule or order

**The lawyer checks:**

- The current version of each named Texas source has been confirmed
- The forum's local rules, standing orders and the assigned judge's orders have been checked for AI requirements
- Federal court rules and orders have been checked separately for any federal matter
- Each AI tool's terms of use and privacy policy have been read for access to inputs, retention and training use
- The Supreme Court of Texas orders list has been checked for a final order on the Rule 13 and Rule 9 amendments

## Authorities

- [Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas, Opinion 705 (February 2025): ethical issues raised by a lawyer's use of generative AI](https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-705/)
- [Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas, Opinion 705 (February 2025), as published in the Texas Bar Journal (texasbar.com)](https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Past_Issues&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=67504)
- [Supreme Court of Texas, Misc. Docket No. 26-9054 (26 June 2026): preliminary approval of amendments to Tex. R. Civ. P. 13 and Tex. R. App. P. 9 and 52 (proposed, not final)](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1462936/269054.pdf)
- [Supreme Court of Texas, Misc. Docket No. 19-9016: comment 8 to Rule 1.01, Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct (technology)](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1443638/199016.pdf)
- [State Bar of Texas, Taskforce for Responsible AI in the Law: 2023-24 Year-End Report](https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Meeting_Agendas_and_Minutes&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=64635)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/ai-decision-systems/us-tx-genai-ethics-checklist and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

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