--- title: "Outside-counsel guidelines on generative AI (United States)" url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/in-house-general-counsel/us-outside-counsel-generative-ai-guidelines" type: "precedent" site: "AI Law Framework" id: "a40-us-outside-counsel-generative-ai-guidelines" area_id: "A40" kind: "letter" ai_level: "yellow" version: 1 task_ids: ["A40-T1-R10", "A40-T1-R12", "A40-B7-2"] law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22" --- # Outside-counsel guidelines on generative AI (United States) > Instructions from a client to outside counsel on generative AI: when counsel must say a tool was used, what must not be input, how AI-assisted time is billed, and that a lawyer reviews anything filed. Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/in-house-general-counsel/us-outside-counsel-generative-ai-guidelines Law stated as at: 2026-10-22 Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt ## Key facts - Kind: Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send. - Practice area: [In-House / General Counsel](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/in-house-general-counsel.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 8 authorities it cites, for United States. ## When to use it Use when a company wants written instructions for law firms it engages. It is a client instruction of the kind Formal Opinion 512 says counsel must follow. It is not a court rule and it does not replace the firm's own professional duties. ## Used for these tasks - [Draft an external-counsel brief and an invoice check against the engagement](https://ailawframework.com/practice/in-house-general-counsel/draft-an-external-counsel-brief-and-an-invoice-check-against-the-engagem.md) - [Draft the organisation's AI-use policy and review an AI-vendor contract](https://ailawframework.com/practice/in-house-general-counsel/draft-the-organisation-s-ai-use-policy-and-review-an-ai-vendor-contract.md) - [Draft the company's internal GenAI acceptable-use policy](https://ailawframework.com/practice/in-house-general-counsel/draft-the-company-s-internal-genai-acceptable-use-policy.md) ## How AI may be used A tool may assemble these guidelines from the company's choices in the schedule. The general counsel decides the choices, including whether a tool may receive company information at all. **AI may:** - Insert the company's selected options from a completed schedule into the matching paragraphs - List paragraphs that still contain an unchosen alternative - Produce a short cover note listing the firms the guidelines will go to, from a list the lawyer supplies **AI must not:** - Must not choose the company's position on input, billing or disclosure - Must not tell a firm that these guidelines override a court order or a rule of professional conduct - Must not describe a named firm's tools without the firm's own statement - Must not send the guidelines **The lawyer checks:** - Each bracketed choice is the company's, and it matches the company's own AI policy if it has one - The billing instruction is consistent with the fee agreement, and it does not ask a firm to hide time that was actually spent - The guidelines tell counsel to follow a stricter court order and the rules of the jurisdiction where counsel is admitted - A firm that will input company information has completed the vendor questions, or is forbidden to input it ## 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 1.4 (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 1.1 (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 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/) - [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/in-house-general-counsel/us-outside-counsel-generative-ai-guidelines 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.*