The State Bar of California Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct
Practice Guidance for the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Law
Executive Summary
By Charles Berwanger
Generative AI is a tool that has wide-ranging application for the practice of law and administrative functions of the legal practice for all licensees, regardless of firm size, and all practice areas. Like any technology, generative AI must be used in a manner that conforms to a lawyer’s professional responsibility obligations, including those set forth in the Rules of Professional Conduct and the State Bar Act. A lawyer should understand the risks and benefits of the technology used in connection with providing legal services. How these obligations apply will depend on a host of factors, including the client, the matter, the practice area, the firm size, and the tools themselves, ranging from free and readily available to custom-built, proprietary formats.
Generative AI use presents unique challenges; it uses large volumes of data, there are many competing AI models and products, and, even for those who create generative AI products, there is a lack of clarity as to how it works. In addition, generative AI poses the risk of encouraging greater reliance and trust on its outputs because of its purpose to generate responses and its ability to do so in a manner that projects confidence and effectively emulates human responses. A lawyer should consider these and other risks before using generative AI in providing legal services.
The following Practical Guidance is based on current professional responsibility obligations for lawyers and demonstrates how to behave consistently with such obligations. While this guidance is intended to address issues and concerns with the use of generative AI and products that use generative AI as a component of a larger product, it may apply to other technologies, including more established applications of AI. This Practical Guidance should be read as guiding principles rather than as “best practices.” Read More
I’m Lilly Glenister, your 2026 Chair for the New Lawyer Division (“NLD”). Born and raised in San Diego, I graduated from San Diego State University and California Western School of Law—a true local girl! Now, I am an associate at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in its Business Trial Practice Group at the firm’s downtown San Diego office. This is my third year as an Executive Committee member of NLD and I am stoked to help my team bring you more events and CLE content this year. It can feel isolating being a new attorney, which is why we encourage you to reach out to us. Whether it is just attending our events throughout the year or getting involved with various volunteer opportunities, NLD is where you can start to build your community here in San Diego.Read More
André Ríos Bollinger, Esq. President Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association
In the popular imagination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often reduced to a handful of quotations, a single holiday, or a softened narrative of inevitable progress. But the King who wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and who stood at the Mason Temple in Memphis on April 3, 1968, the night before his assassination, was not offering comfort. He was issuing a demand. That demand was grounded in what might best be described as radical love, a disciplined, uncomfortable, and courageous commitment to human dignity that refuses neutrality in the face of injustice.Read More
On October 10 and 11, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills, Assembly Bill 931 and Senate Bill 37, that will impact the law of lawyering effective January 1, 2026. We want the membership to be aware of these new laws since they may impact the way you advertise and attract clients. The changes are significant and violations can have serious consequences.Read More
As January rings in a new year, we often feel a collective pressure to “fix” ourselves through rigid resolutions. However, instead of focusing on what needs to be corrected, we can look at the new year as an invitation to embrace the “beginner’s mind.” Starting something brand new in January offers profound benefits for our mental and emotional well-being.Read More
