Law Society of NSW Releases ‘AI Glossary’

The Law Society of NSW has partnered with LexisNexis to release an AI Glossary. This is the latest step by the Law Society in attempting to assist Practitioners navigate the use of Generative AI.

Earlier initiatives by the Law Society of NSW include the release of a Guidance on the use of AI in late 2023 and the Formulation of an AI Taskforce in early 2024.

It is generally considered that the use of Generative AI by Solicitors in Australia is currently governed by the Practitioner’s overarching ethical duties including those of confidentiality, acting competently and in a client’s best interests as well as not misleading the court.? These duties do not specifically refer to AI and are technology agnostic.??

Despite the commendable actions of the Law Society of NSW and other Bodies the challenge for Solicitors is how to gain an understanding of the myriad of complexities of Generative AI so that they can make an educated and informed decision as to how best to utilise it in their day-to-day activities.?

With Generative AI developing so quickly The Law Society of NSW’s move to have clear and agreed definitions of AI terminology is an important step in establishing a framework around its use.? I would suggest that the AI Glossary may pave the way for even more prescriptive rules around the use of AI in the future.? After all, it is only possible to explicitly allow and set boundaries for the use of a technology if it is clearly defined. A key question that will need to be addressed regarding the use of Generative AI is to what level does its use need to be disclosed.

Overseas jurisdictions are also moving to put a framework around the use of AI and some are quite prescriptive around its use and the disclosure of its use to clients and courts. On Monday the American Bar Association (ABA) issued its first formal ethical guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in legal practice.?

Key Takeaways of the ABA Guidelines:

1. Competence and Diligence: Lawyers using generative AI must understand AI tools' capabilities and limitations.
2. Confidentiality: Lawyers must ensure that AI use doesn't compromise client information.
3. Supervision: Lawyers are responsible for overseeing AI tools as they would non-lawyer assistants.
4. Transparency: Clients should be informed about AI use in their matters.

When assisting Solicitor’s navigate the use of Generative AI in Australia it would be naive to try to condense this assistance into one or two rules or statements.??

Generally speaking, a good starting point would be for Practitioners to use Generative AI as they would approach the utilisation of a very good legal assistant or paralegal. That is, with close supervision and an understanding that the very good legal assistant or paralegal supplements rather than replaces the work of the Solicitor.?

The Law Society of NSW’s Guidance can be found here: https://lsj.com.au/articles/a-solicitors-guide-to-responsible-use-of-artificial-intelligence/?_ga=2.85029401.1055613163.1722302921-1983047448.1722302921

The AI Glossary can be found here: https://www.lexisnexis.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/532871/Law-Society-of-NSW_AI-Glossary_LexisNexis_24AUCRS66.pdf

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author. This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

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