Eight proposed guidelines for advocates who use AI in their work, in order of seriousness. Each rests on a duty that already exists in the LPC Code of Conduct or the GCB Uniform Rules; none is new law. Each has its own page with the rule, what the courts have said, the checks, and how other jurisdictions deal with the same point.
How the guidelines are graded
| Tier | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red · Must | An existing professional duty. Breach may be misconduct. |
| Orange · Should | A strongly recommended safeguard. Not following it is not, by itself, misconduct. |
| Green · Method | A recommended way of complying, set out on each page. Other methods that work are equally acceptable. |
Red: existing duties
1. Red · Must Do not mislead the court
Every authority, quotation and fact is checked against its source before it goes to court, by a person and on the original. A case that does not exist, a quotation that is wrong or a fact that is not in the record misleads the court whoever, or whatever, produced it. Evidence is the witness’s own.
Rests on: LPC Code of Conduct, para 57.1; GCB Uniform Rules, rule 3.2.
2. Red · Must Own the work
The brief belongs to the counsel who accepted it. AI may assist; it may not do the thinking. No argument, summary or answer is adopted that counsel cannot explain and defend as their own.
Rests on: LPC Code of Conduct, paras 28.4, 3.9 and 3.11; GCB Uniform Rules, rule 4.26.
3. Red · Must Know your tools
Counsel who use AI are reasonably competent in its use: how the tool fails, what happens to what is put into it, and what its settings do. A proposed addition; it follows from the duty of competence.
Rests on: LPC Code of Conduct, paras 3.11 and 3.13.
4. Red · Must You are responsible for every word
Counsel’s name is on the document. Counsel answers for every word in it: from AI, from a junior, from a devil, from the attorney. “The tool produced it” is not an answer.
Rests on: LPC Code of Conduct, paras 3.1 and 57.1.
5. Red · Must Keep client information confidential
Before client material goes into any tool, counsel knows where it goes, who can see it, how long it is kept and whether it trains the model. A paid subscription does not answer those questions by itself. A proposed addition.
Rests on: LPC Code of Conduct, paras 3.6, 57.2 and 57.3.
6. Red · Must Orange · Should Respect restrictions. Tell the attorney.
Any restriction on AI use from the attorney, the client or the court is followed (must). Instructing attorneys are told, in general terms, how counsel uses AI (should). A proposed addition.
Rests on: LPC Code of Conduct, para 3.3; GCB Uniform Rules, rule 4.26.2.
Orange: good practice
7. Orange · Should Be concise. No AI slop.
AI makes length cheap; the court’s time is not. A point is made once and clearly. Padded, generic text costs the client money and costs counsel their standing with the bench.
Rests on: LPC Code of Conduct, paras 3.10 and 3.15.
8. Red · Must Orange · Should Consider your billing
Fee records are accurate; time not worked is not recorded (must). The fee reflects the work done, and where AI changes the cost of the work it is discussed with the attorney (should).
Rests on: LPC Code of Conduct, paras 29 and 34.6; GCB Uniform Rules, rule 7.1.1.
In one sentence
Use AI to help with the work. Do not hand it the responsibility. Check what you use.
Where the guidelines fit
The guidelines are the rules. The step-by-step guides are the practice: how to set up a matter folder, make documents readable, check a draft and record what was checked, in a way that complies with them. The international comparison sets each guideline against the guidance in England and Wales, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and the Research page lists the sources.
Sources on file: Code of Conduct for All Legal Practitioners, Candidate Legal Practitioners and Juristic Entities (GG 42337, 29 March 2019). General Council of the Bar of South Africa, Uniform Rules of Professional Ethics (as updated July 2024).
Status. Proposed guidelines, put forward by Greg Fourie SC for discussion. They have not been adopted by the Legal Practice Council, the General Council of the Bar or any society of advocates. The duties referred to come from the Code and the Uniform Rules; read those documents themselves before relying on anything here.