Practice area
AI governance for law firms
Independent advisory for firms that use generative AI in client work. Solari designs the policy, the supervision structure, and the evidentiary record that allow a firm to show its use of AI is consistent with its professional obligations, in the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
Why law is its own practice
A law firm's use of AI is regulated twice.
The first layer is the general law that governs AI systems and the data they process. The second is the law of lawyering: competence, confidentiality, client communication, candor to the tribunal, supervision, and fees. Most AI governance work addresses only the first. For a firm, the second carries the sharper exposure, because it is enforced against individual lawyers and against the partners who manage them.
ABA Formal Opinion 512 sets the national baseline. California's proposed amendments to Rules 1.1, 1.4, 1.6, 3.3, 5.1 and 5.3 would make several expectations explicit, including a managerial duty to make reasonable efforts to establish internal policies on AI use. In the UAE, the Ministry of Justice launched its Guiding Principles for the Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems by Law Firms in September 2026, and the DIFC Courts already expect disclosure and verification of AI use in proceedings.
Read the full explainer: AI governance for law firmsScope
What the engagement covers.
- An inventory of AI use across practice groups, including tools adopted informally by individual lawyers
- Classification of use cases by client, matter type, and confidentiality exposure
- A firm AI policy aligned to ABA Formal Opinion 512 and the rules of each jurisdiction in which the firm practises
- A supervision structure under Rules 5.1 and 5.3: an accountable partner, an approval path, and escalation
- Verification standards for AI-assisted work product, including citation checking before filing
- Client communication, engagement-letter terms, and billing for AI-assisted work
- Vendor diligence on data retention, model training, and third-party access to client information
- Alignment across offices for firms practising in both the United States and the UAE
Outputs
What the firm holds at the end.
- A firm AI policy with the procedures that make it operable
- A use-case register recording approved tools, permitted uses, and supervision requirements
- An approval workflow with named accountable partners
- A verification protocol for research, drafting, and citations
- Client-disclosure and engagement-letter language for adoption by the firm
- A documented record of the firm's governance decisions, suitable for a client audit, an insurer's renewal questionnaire, or a regulator's inquiry
- A training baseline, with the option of the AGL credential for the lawyers who own the program
Instruments
What the work is measured against.
Each obligation is traced to the instrument that imposes it, so the firm can show where every control comes from.
- ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (July 2024)
- California Rules of Professional Conduct and the proposed AI amendments to Rules 1.1, 1.4, 1.6, 3.3, 5.1 and 5.3
- State Bar of California Practical Guidance for the Use of Generative AI
- UAE Ministry of Justice Guiding Principles for the Use of AI Systems by Law Firms
- DIFC Data Protection Regulations, Regulation 10 (autonomous and semi-autonomous systems)
- DIFC Courts Practical Guidance Note No. 2 of 2023 on generative AI in proceedings
- NIST AI Risk Management Framework
- ISO/IEC 42001, AI management systems
How engagements begin
A Diagnostic, then the program.
Engagements begin with a Diagnostic: a structured session on how AI is used inside the firm, which duties attach to that use, and where current practice falls short. A written diagnostic follows within three days. Where the work warrants it, a Strategic Audit or an advisory retainer carries the program through design and adoption.
The credential
For the lawyers who own the program.
AGL, AI Governance in Law, is the Solari Institute's credential for legal practice, examined against the rules of a named jurisdiction. The California endorsement, AGL USA-CA, is a State Bar of California approved MCLE activity. AGL-UAE is a DLAD-accredited CLPD course.
The AGL credentialRelated