A quiet standard is being rewritten in courtrooms and law offices alike: Knowing the law is no longer enough on its own. Understanding the technology behind the law, including AI, is now part of the job, and nowhere does that matter more than in what a lawyer puts in front of a judge
Key insights:
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The duty of competence now includes technology 鈥� Rules first written for legal knowledge and diligence are being read to cover the tools lawyers use, not just the arguments they make.
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The rules didn’t anticipate AI, but they still apply 鈥� Formal opinions and updated guidance make clear that generative and agentic AI fall squarely within lawyers鈥� existing ethical obligations.
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What reaches the court carries the highest stakes 鈥� A lawyer’s technology missteps are most consequential, and most visible, the moment they show up in a filing, an exhibit, or an argument made to a judge.
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Every attorney holds a duty of competence, and that duty has always included legal knowledge and sound judgment. Today, however, it now extends to technology as well. Often called 鈥�technical competence鈥�, today鈥檚 duty of competence requires understanding the benefits and risks of the tools used in practice, not just the law itself.
The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct describe an attorney’s duty of competence as the obligation to provide representation using the (Rule 1.1). Comment 8 of the rule states explicitly, in part: 鈥淭o maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology鈥� .鈥�
Indeed, competence matters well beyond a lawyer’s own file. Every filing, brief, and exhibit is, in effect, a lawyer’s communication to the court, and the court relies on the presumption that what it receives has been prepared with care. When a lawyer misunderstands or misuses technology, whether that means citing an AI hallucination as precedent or mishandling e-discovery output, the failure lands directly on the judge’s desk.
Rules of professional conduct are written broad and durable, so they do not need constant revision. Even so, few could have anticipated the pace of technological change now reaching the legal field.
A lawyer cannot simply plead ignorance when technology goes wrong, and failing to understand the tools being used can lead to ethics complaints, sanctions, or malpractice claims. Perhaps even more damaging, it can just as easily undermine a judge’s confidence in everything else that lawyer submits.
Rules built to last meet a technology no one predicted
Each state and territory maintains their , but most draw heavily on the ABA’s Model Rules as a foundation. Precedent is also shaped by disciplinary proceedings and case law, including a growing number of cases in which judges have sanctioned lawyers for submitting AI-generated content that was never checked for accuracy.
Rules of professional conduct are written broad and durable, so they do not need constant revision. Even so, few could have anticipated the pace of technological change now reaching the legal field. E-discovery was an early example, already raising real questions about what a lawyer could certify to a court in good faith. The more significant shift today is generative AI (GenAI) and agentic AI, capable of producing legal analysis or even taking action with minimal human oversight, often producing material that looks polished and authoritative right up until a judge or opposing counsel checks it.
Recognizing this shift, the ABA issued in July 2024 on the use of GenAI tools in legal practice, confirming that the duty of competence applies squarely to AI. The Formal Opinion requires lawyers to understand these tools well enough to use them responsibly, supervise their output, and avoid overreliance on unverified results 鈥� a standard that matters most the moment a document is filed, or an argument is made in open court.
5 ways to stay ahead of the curve
Given how quickly legal technology is evolving, and how little margin for error exists once something reaches a judge, there are five practical ways that lawyers can maintain their technical competence, including:
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- Pursue CLEs and structured education 鈥� Continuing legal education courses focused on AI, e-discovery, and cybersecurity offer a reliable, credentialed way to stay current. Many state bars now offer, and some require, CLE credits specifically on legal technology, exposing lawyers to real-world case studies that include those involving AI missteps that have drawn judicial sanctions.
- Build personal familiarity through hands-on use 鈥� Reading about a tool is no substitute for using it. Treating AI as a “thought partner,” for drafting, brainstorming, or spotting issues, helps professionals develop an intuitive feel for what these tools do well and in which ways they fall short, long before a document ever reaches a court. This low-stakes experimentation on matters that don鈥檛 impact client confidentiality or sensitive data can help build practical AI fluency.
- Practice in sandboxes and controlled environments 鈥� Before relying on a new platform in an active matter, test it in a sandbox first. Many vendors and firms now offer walled-off spaces to explore a tool’s features and failure points without exposing real client data.
- Review organizational guidelines 鈥� Firms, courts, and bar associations increasingly publish their own AI use policies that cover permitted tools, disclosure requirements, and data security. A growing number of courts also require lawyers to certify or disclose any AI use in filings, making familiarity with local rules as important as firm policy.
- Choose the right tools for the task 鈥� Free consumer-grade AI tools may suit general research, but should not be used in matters involving privileged or sensitive information, let alone a court filing. Premium and fiduciary-grade platforms, built with legal-specific safeguards around data handling and auditability, are better suited for substantive casework. Matching the tool to the sensitivity of the task, rather than convenience, is critical.
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Used together, these five habits can help lawyers build a durable foundation in AI literacy. While technology will keep evolving, of course, any lawyer who has internalized this approach will be far less likely to be caught off guard once their work is tested in front of a judge.
Why this is about more than just the rules
Maintaining technical competence is not simply about avoiding disciplinary consequence. It is about preserving what the legal system is meant to provide. When lawyers understand the technology they use, including AI, they can apply it to research and review in ways that benefit clients and courts alike.
Just as importantly, technical competence protects the public’s trust in the legal profession, and something more immediate: a judge’s ability to rely on what lawyers put in front of them. In the end, technical competence is not a burden imposed by the rules; rather, it鈥檚 what allows the relationship between lawyers and the court, and the profession itself, to keep working.
For more on AI in the courts, check out the 听鈥� a joint effort by the National Center for State Courts听(NCSC) and the 成人VR视频 Institute (TRI)
