The archive
Every issue, in one place.
28 guides, newest first. Prefer to browse by subject? Pick a topic.
- 028
Issue 028 · Compliance
The SRA's misuse of AI warning notice: what small firms must do
The SRA presents its 17 August 2026 AI notice as guidance on existing duties. Its client-data safeguards give small firms a vendor check.
6 min read
- 027
Issue 027 · Compliance
Your expert used AI. What to ask before you serve the report
A federal court excluded an expert for fake citations in August and the case died with prejudice. The exclusion lands on your client, not the expert.
6 min read
- 026
Issue 026 · Compliance
Does SB 574 ban lawyers from using AI? What California's new law actually requires
SB 574 doesn't ban AI in law practice. Newsom signed it on September 30, folding AI duties into two existing California statutes.
6 min read
- 025
Issue 025 · Confidentiality
Are your AI prompts discoverable? What the 2026 rulings actually protect
Two courts said in June that AI chat logs are work product. The protection turns on who typed the prompt, and the exceptions swallow a lot of it.
7 min read
- 024
Issue 024 · Confidentiality
Can lawyers use AI notetakers? What the NYC Bar's 2026 opinions actually say
Every guide this year says get consent and proceed. The City Bar's newest ethics opinion says the default should be not to record at all.
7 min read
- 023
Issue 023 · Compliance
Can a lawyer be disbarred for using AI? What the 2026 cases actually punished
The first strike off landed in September 2026. Next to the Ninth Circuit and Nebraska orders, the escalator is the same: the second document.
7 min read
- 022
Issue 022 · Compliance
Does any state require AI CLE? What the 2026 rules actually say
No US jurisdiction mandates an AI-specific credit. Five require a technology credit an AI course can fill, and the dates and categories differ.
7 min read
- 021
Issue 021 · Operations
Does your malpractice insurance cover AI mistakes? What the 2026 exclusions actually hit
The ISO exclusions everyone is forwarding attach to your general liability policy, not your professional liability cover. The real gap sits elsewhere.
7 min read
- 020
Issue 020 · Compliance
Agentic AI for lawyers in 2026: the risk is the document you did not write
An agent acts on material drafted by people with an interest in your case. In August 2026 a Connecticut judge caught the first US attack built on exactly that.
7 min read
- 019
Issue 019 · Operations
Can you bill a client for AI time? What ABA Opinion 512 actually permits
You can bill the minutes you spent prompting and checking. The subscription is overhead, and your flat fee may have quietly become unreasonable.
8 min read
- 018
Issue 018 · Operations
Harvey AI review: what Harvey's own benchmark tells a small firm
Skip the feature lists. Harvey publishes a benchmark of its own agents, and the numbers in it answer the buying question better than any review does.
8 min read
- 017
Issue 017 · Compliance
Are AI legal research tools safe in 2026? What the Sixth Circuit just held
Every case in the brief was real. The quotations inside them were not. The Sixth Circuit's April 2026 opinion changes what a cite-check must catch.
8 min read
- 016
Issue 016 · Compliance
What is a DPA and why every lawyer using AI needs one
Free and Plus accounts don't come with one. If you're putting client data into AI without a signed DPA, you're already in breach.
7 min read
- 015
Issue 015 · Confidentiality
How to anonymise a document before using AI (step by step for lawyers)
Swapping out names isn't enough. Here's the process that actually holds up, including the step almost every guide skips: metadata and fact-pattern identification.
8 min read
Issue 014 · Confidentiality
Does using AI waive legal privilege? What United States v. Heppner actually decided
A federal judge ruled a defendant's AI chats weren't privileged. The reason wasn't the AI. It's who directed the use, and that distinction changes what you tell clients.
8 min read
Issue 013 · Compliance
Your firm's AI policy problem isn't the tools, it's the missing training
69% of lawyers now use AI at work. 54% of firms have given them zero training on how. That gap, not the tools themselves, is what actually creates malpractice exposure.
7 min read
Issue 012 · Confidentiality
Does ChatGPT Free's opt-out actually stop training on your prompts?
Yes, the toggle works. It just doesn't do what most lawyers assume it does. Here's what OpenAI's own settings actually control, and what they don't.
7 min read
Issue 011 · Confidentiality
Is Microsoft Copilot safe for law firms?
The AI isn't the risk. Your SharePoint permissions are. Here's what actually determines whether Copilot is safe for client work, and why the free version is a different product entirely.
8 min read
Issue 010 · Operations
The best AI contract review tools for small firms (2026)
Most contract review roundups target enterprise teams. For a solo or small firm, the questions are price and who is liable when the AI is wrong.
9 min read
Issue 009 · Compliance
The EU AI Act and your law firm: what August 2026 actually requires
The high-risk deadline for legal AI just moved to December 2027. Here's exactly what August 2, 2026 still requires, and who it actually applies to.
8 min read
Issue 008 · Compliance
AI hallucinations in legal work: sanctions, cases, and how to avoid them
Courts sanctioned lawyers more than $145,000 in Q1 2026 alone for fabricated AI citations. Here's what the worst cases actually show, and the one habit that stops it.
8 min read
Issue 007 · Compliance
ABA Opinion 512 explained: what solo lawyers actually need to do
Formal Opinion 512 reads like guidance for firms with a compliance team. Here's what it actually requires when you're on your own.
7 min read
Issue 006 · Compliance
When do lawyers have to tell clients they're using AI?
No blanket duty exists, but billing, confidentiality, and court rules each create their own triggers. Here's exactly when disclosure is required and when it isn't.
7 min read
Issue 005 · Compliance
How to write an AI policy for a small law firm (with template)
57% of small law firms have no written AI policy. Here's what yours needs to cover, how to write it in an afternoon, and a free template mapped to ABA Opinion 512 and SRA obligations.
8 min read
Issue 004 · Operations
AI for client intake: where it's safe, and where it isn't
Client intake and admin are the safest, highest-return place for a small firm to start with AI. Here's the line between safe process work and risky matter content.
5 min read
Issue 003 · Confidentiality
What does the SRA actually say about lawyers using AI?
The SRA hasn't banned AI, and it hasn't blessed it either. Here's what the regulator actually expects from solicitors using AI tools, and the four questions that keep you compliant.
5 min read
Issue 002 · Confidentiality
Is it safe to use ChatGPT for legal work in 2026?
ChatGPT Free and Plus train on your inputs by default. Here's what's actually safe for lawyers, what isn't, and how to use AI without breaching client confidentiality.
6 min read
Issue 001 · Confidentiality
What 'do not train on my data' actually means in 2026
A side-by-side of what ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini retain when you use the consumer vs. enterprise plans, and where the contractual cliffs are.
7 min read
The next issue is on its way. Subscribe to get it first.