--- title: "Engagement letter with a generative AI clause (United States)" url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/us-engagement-letter-generative-ai" type: "precedent" site: "AI Law Framework" id: "a42-us-engagement-letter-generative-ai" area_id: "A42" kind: "letter" ai_level: "yellow" version: 1 task_ids: ["A42-T1-R1", "A42-B1-1", "A42-A20260923-1", "A42-A20260923-2"] law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22" --- # Engagement letter with a generative AI clause (United States) > Engagement letter stating the scope and the basis of the fee, and separating ordinary generative-AI use from any input of information relating to the representation, which needs a completed tool schedule rather than a… Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/us-engagement-letter-generative-ai Law stated as at: 2026-10-22 Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt Engagement letter stating the scope and the basis of the fee, and separating ordinary generative-AI use from any input of information relating to the representation, which needs a completed tool schedule rather than a boilerplate consent. ## Key facts - Kind: Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send. - Practice area: [Costs, billing & litigation funding](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding.md) - Jurisdictions: United States - AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on. - Law stated as at: 2026-10-22 - Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the 12 authorities it cites, for United States. ## When to use it Use when a US lawyer opens a matter and will say how the work is staffed, charged and, where relevant, assisted by a generative AI tool. Pair it with a completed tool schedule before any information relating to the representation is put into a tool. It is not a litigation-funding disclosure and it is not a conflict waiver. ## Used for these tasks - [Draft a costs disclosure from the matter scope and the scale or estimate](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/draft-a-costs-disclosure-from-the-matter-scope-and-the-scale-or-estimate.md) - [Review a bill for AI-assisted work](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/review-a-bill-for-ai-assisted-work.md) - [Build a draft bill from the time records and the disclosure](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/build-a-draft-bill-from-the-time-records-and-the-disclosure.md) - [Compare a draft bill to the last costs disclosure and any updates](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/compare-a-draft-bill-to-the-last-costs-disclosure-and-any-updates.md) ## How AI may be used A tool may assemble this letter from the firm's approved clauses and from a tool schedule the lawyer has already completed. The lawyer checks the scope, the fee and every consent particular before the letter is sent. **AI may:** - Insert the scope, names, rates and dates the lawyer has written into the matching placeholders - Copy into the schedule only those tool facts that appear in the vendor terms or the approval record the lawyer attaches - List blanks, and flag a schedule that still contains a general consent sentence and no tool-specific risk **AI must not:** - Must not describe a tool's training, retention or access from marketing text or from the tool's own answer - Must not state that the client has given informed consent, or send the letter - Must not set a rate, a flat fee or a per-use charge, or add time for learning a tool the firm uses generally - Must not leave a boilerplate consent in place of the particulars Formal Opinion 512 requires **The lawyer checks:** - The basis of the fee and expenses is stated, and any change from the firm's usual basis is explained, before or within a reasonable time of starting, preferably in writing - If information relating to the representation will be input, the schedule names the tool and the risks in enough detail that consent can be informed - Hourly entries will be actual time, and general learning time for a tool the firm uses regularly is not billed - The adopted rule in the jurisdiction, and any written-fee statute it has, has been checked. California's 2026 guidance is not a national rule ## Authorities - [ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (July 29, 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) - [ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.1 (Competence)](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_1_competence/) - [ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.1, Comment, including Comment 8 on technology](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_1_competence/comment_on_rule_1_1/) - [ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.4 (Communications)](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_4_communications/) - [ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5 (Fees)](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_5_fees/) - [ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, 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/) - [ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.6, Comments 3, 4 and 18](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_6_confidentiality_of_information/comment_on_rule_1_6/) - [ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.0 (Terminology), including paragraphs (b) and (e)](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_0_terminology/) - [ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3.1 (Meritorious Claims and Contentions)](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_3_1_meritorious_claims_contentions/) - [ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3.3 (Candor toward the Tribunal)](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_3_3_candor_toward_the_tribunal/) - [ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 5.1 (Responsibilities of Partners, Managers and Supervisory Lawyers)](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_5_1_responsibilities_of_a_partner_or_supervisory_lawyer/) - [State Bar of California, Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct, Practical Guidance for the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Law (2026 revision, replacing the November 2023 guidance)](https://www.calbar.ca.gov/Portals/0/documents/ethics/Generative-AI-Practical-Guidance.pdf) ## 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/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/us-engagement-letter-generative-ai 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.*