Generative AI and Legal Ethics: How to Avoid Sanctions
Duration: 60 Minutes
3 Days Left To REGISTER
Id: 213370
Eran Kahana
Overview
This presentation analyzes the ethical obligations of attorneys using generative AI tools, focusing on competence, confidentiality, and candor.
It surveys common use cases-legal research, document drafting, and contract analysis-and critically examines AI 'hallucinations' and the risks of unverified output. ABA Formal Opinion 512 and the Model Rules anchor the discussion: Rule 1.1 competence and the duty to understand a tool's limits, Rule 1.6 confidentiality and the hazards of public models, and Rule 3.3 candor and the obligation to verify. The program addresses supervisory duties under Rules 5.1 and 5.3 and closes with lessons from recent disciplinary actions and judicial standing orders on AI use in court filings.
Why you should Attend
Attorneys have already been sanctioned, publicly named, and referred to disciplinary authorities for filing briefs with AI-invented cases. The duties of competence, confidentiality, and candor do not bend for new technology-they expand to cover it. This session shows you exactly where the ethical lines fall, what ABA Formal Opinion 512 requires, and how to use generative AI without becoming the next cautionary headline.
Areas Covered in the Session
- Generative AI in legal practice: research, drafting, and contract analysis
- AI 'hallucinations' and the risks of unverified output
- ABA Formal Opinion 512 and the Model Rules of Professional Conduct
- Rule 1.1 (Competence): understanding the capabilities and limitations of AI tools
- Rule 1.6 (Confidentiality): risks of inputting client data into public generative AI models
- Rule 3.3 (Candor toward the Tribunal): verifying citations and legal arguments
- Rules 5.1 and 5.3: supervising attorneys and non-lawyer staff, and firm-wide AI-use policies
- Rule 1.1 (Competence): understanding the capabilities and limitations of AI tools
- Lessons from recent disciplinary actions involving AI-generated fictitious citations
- Judicial standing orders governing the use of AI in court filings
Who Will Benefit
- Managing Partners and Practice-Group Leaders
- General Counsel and In-House Counsel
- Litigation and Transactional Attorneys
- Law Firm Risk and Ethics Counsel
- Professional Responsibility Officers
- Legal Operations Leaders
- Paralegals and Legal Support Staff
Speaker Profile
In his practice, Eran counsels clients on a wide variety of matters related to AI, cybersecurity, privacy, technology law, trademarks, patents, and copyright issues. Eran also serves in a variety of cybersecurity thought leadership roles and works closely with the FBI, Department of Justice, Secret Service, and colleagues from the private and academic sectors to set, promote, and sustain cybersecurity best practices.
At Stanford Law School, Eran writes and lectures on the intersect between law and AI and is a frequent speaker at Stanford's annual Digital Economy Best Practices Conference. He has been cited in Oxford University Professor Marcus Du Satoy’s book The Creativity Code: Art and Innovation in the Age of AI and has been interviewed on AI, cybersecurity, privacy, and technology law by Bloomberg Law, BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) radio, KABC radio, Minnesota Public Radio, Twin Cities Business magazine, Star Tribune, Minnesota Lawyer, TheStreet.com, Quartz magazine, KARE 11, and Stanford University Radio, KZSU FM.
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