ABA Formal Opinion 512

ABA Formal Opinion 512 is the American Bar Association's guidance on generative artificial intelligence in legal practice. It concludes that existing Model Rules govern AI use, and it addresses competence, confidentiality, communication with clients, supervision of AI tools, candor to tribunals, and reasonable fees.

The opinion requires lawyers to understand the benefits and risks of the tools they use, to evaluate whether inputting client information is permissible given the tool's terms, and to independently verify AI output before relying on it.

Alternative Names:

Formal Opinion 512, ABA AI Ethics Opinion

Why it Matters?

The opinion is the practical baseline for law firm and insurer AI policies. It establishes that responsibility cannot be delegated to a vendor, that self-learning tools raise distinct confidentiality questions, and that billing must reflect actual time and value rather than the time a task would have taken without AI. Firms building AI governance programs generally map their policies directly to its sections.

Frequently Confused with

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

Does Opinion 512 require telling clients about AI use?

It requires disclosure in some circumstances, particularly where client information will be input into a tool, where AI use is material to the representation, or where the engagement agreement or client instructions call for it.

Can a lawyer bill for time saved by AI?

No. The opinion states that lawyers may bill only for time actually expended, and may not charge for hours the tool eliminated, though the cost of the tool itself may be passed through if disclosed and reasonable.