In May 2024, the Queensland Law Society issued its first ever Guidance Note on the use of AI systems by lawyers and law firms. The guidelines are published to provide Queensland legal practitioners with a framework for the responsible and ethical use of AI in legal practice. Whilst the guidelines do not have any legal or statutory effect, it is expected that they need to be taken into account by practitioners as part of their ethical responsabilities and in order to manage risks associated with the use of AI. The Guidelines set out a number of key areas for practitioners to consider, such as competency/education, confidentiality practices, transparency in the use of AI, supervision, legal costs considerations. The section on transparency may be somewhat innovative, or even controversial, since recent polls show that most legal practitioners around the world are using some form of AI in their practices and are not disclosing this to clients or third parties: "Ethical Duty: Where feasible, clients should be advised if an AI tool will be used when performing their work. The more significant the AI contribution to a client’s work will be, the more stringent the obligation to bring this to their attention.
Context: Disclosure to clients is always a balancing exercise. Some clients, especially those with particularly sensitive or valuable information may have stringent policies or views concerning AI use. Others may have little interest in how you intend to deliver the services contracted.
There is no reason to suggest that, if selected and used appropriately, an AI tool cannot supply reliable work. However, particularly with emerging technology, any special risks or characteristics should be discussed.
Appropriate management may include:
Disclosing AI tools the practice uses in the retainer agreement or letters of engagement. In many cases, this may be sufficient. Where the tool will be used to undertake substantial tranches of work that would ordinarily be done manually, the client should be appraised of this fact, the types of data to which the system will be given access and how relevant risks will be managed. In addition to compliance with applicable Practice Directions, if AI generated material is supplied during court proceedings (whether this originates from the client or the legal practice), reasonable efforts should be made to disclose the AI involvement and to outline controls in place to ensure accuracy if called upon to do so." The Guidelines have largely been welcomed by the profession. It is expected that we will see the publication of further more refined and detailed guidelines on the use of AI systems over the coming months.