On Feb. 28, 2025 the Northwest Territories law society emailed a new five-page single-spaced “practice advisory” (dated January 2025) to its members, which the regulator said provides “guidelines for the ethical and responsible use of Generative AI in legal practice.”
“The integration of GenAI tools into legal practice offers significant opportunities for efficiency and innovation but also presents challenges that require careful navigation,” the law society said in its ChatGPT-generated conclusion, which the regulator said it reviewed before publication.
“Lawyers must uphold the standards of professional responsibility, ensuring compliance with the Code of Professional Conduct while embracing new technologies,” said the Chat-GPT conclusion. “This includes safeguarding confidentiality, maintaining competence, ensuring fairness in billing, addressing biases and verifying the accuracy of AI-generated content. By establishing clear policies and protocols and staying informed about advancements in GenAI, legal professionals can responsibly use these tools to enhance their practice while preserving the integrity and trust central to the legal profession.”
The law society noted that it developed its guidelines with reference to guidance provided by legal regulators in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well as guidelines on the use of generative AI from the Government of Canada and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security.
The Law Society of Ontario, which has issued a practice note and white paper, and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (the national umbrella group for Canada’s 14 legal regulators) have also issued guidance.
In its AI-use guidelines, the Law Society of the Northwest Territories encourages the bar to stay informed about the evolving AI tools and their capabilities and limitations so lawyers can “use them responsibly while maintaining trust and integrity central to the legal profession.”
The guidelines define various terms such as “generative” AI and “extractive” AI, and give examples of providers and products.
The guidelines also succinctly comment on generative AI’s intersection with and application to the various professional obligations of lawyers.
For example, under the rubric of “responsibility,” lawyers must establish “clear protocols” for the use of GenAI tools and “regularly review work produced by junior lawyers and support staff to ensure compliance with professional standards.”
The use of GenAI tools also “should be supported by robust security measures and administrative protocols”— e.g. controlled access, regular audits and strong administrative policies — to “help reduce the risk of unauthorized access or inadvertent data disclosure."
When it comes to lawyers’ fees, billing for tasks completed more efficiently and in shorter times with GenAI “should be reflected in the fees charged," the law society says. "Additionally, any costs associated with the use of GenAI, such as subscriptions or licensing fees, should be transparently categorized as disbursements and clearly communicated to the client. Lawyers must also ensure that their clients are informed about how GenAI contributes to the work being billed, aligning with their obligation to provide fair, transparent and reasonable fee structures.”
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