What Attorneys Need to Know About New York Courts’ New AI Rule, Jonathan Sellers

AI Usage Authorization: Attorneys and parties are allowed to use AI tools to assist in preparing pleadings and other legal documents for submission to New York State courts, provided they adhere to ethical and professional responsibilities.
Disclosure Not Required: Attorneys are not mandated to disclose to the court if an AI tool was used in preparing a legal document.
AI Definition: The rule defines “AI” as any machine-based system capable of making predictions, recommendations, and/or decisions based on human-defined objectives and inputs. It applies to documents like pleadings and briefs, but not evidentiary materials.
Ethical Compliance Essential: Use of AI must comply with existing duties under the Rules of Professional Conduct, including independently reviewing and verifying the accuracy of the submitted document.
Verification Obligation: Attorneys must ensure the document prepared with AI tools contains no fictitious or false statements and must review and verify the AI-generated content to certify its accuracy. Failure to do so can result in sanctions by the court.
Local Court Rules: Courts retain the ability to develop their own rules for AI use in submissions, so it is important for attorneys to stay informed on any additional local AI use regulations.