AI ethics guide · New Jersey
Can a New Jersey lawyer put client documents into an AI tool?
What the Preliminary Guidelines says about client confidentiality, and the other duties that come with using AI.
Not legal advice. This is a plain-English summary of the Preliminary Guidelines, written by the team that makes ClientSafeAI, and it hasn't been reviewed by a lawyer. Read the source itself, and ask the New Jersey bar's ethics hotline if you're unsure how it applies to you.
| Document | Preliminary Guidelines on the Use of Artificial Intelligence by New Jersey Lawyers |
|---|---|
| Issued by | Supreme Court of New Jersey |
| Date | January 25, 2024 |
| Status | Preliminary guidelines from the Court, not a court rule |
The short answer
Yes. New Jersey’s Supreme Court says AI doesn’t change a lawyer’s core duties, and preserving client confidentiality is one of them. The guidelines apply the existing Rules of Professional Conduct to AI rather than creating a new rulebook, so the question is whether a given tool lets you keep client information confidential.
What it says about confidentiality
These guidelines come from the Supreme Court itself, not a bar association, which is unusual. The Court called them preliminary, invited comment and left room for more formal action later. They are a lens on existing duties, not new rules.
The Court names five anchor duties for lawyers using AI: accuracy and truthfulness, honest and candid communication with clients, preserving confidentiality, preventing misconduct including discrimination, and oversight of lawyers, nonlawyer staff and others who use AI.
On confidentiality, the practical reading is the same as everywhere else. A New Jersey lawyer must understand how a tool handles client information before putting any in, and must be able to keep that information confidential while using it.
As with any disruptive technology, a lack of careful engagement with AI could lead to ethical violations, underscoring the need for lawyers to adapt their practices mindfully and ethically in this evolving landscape.
Supreme Court of New Jersey, Preliminary Guidelines
The other duties it covers
| Accuracy | Lawyers are responsible for the truthfulness and accuracy of what they submit, AI-assisted or not. |
|---|---|
| Communication | Be honest and candid with clients about how their matter is handled. |
| Misconduct | Prevent misconduct, including discrimination, that AI use could introduce. |
| Oversight | Supervise lawyers, nonlawyer staff and others in the firm who use AI. |
In practice
- Map each AI tool you use against the five duties the Court names.
- Confirm how each tool stores and uses client information before using it on a matter.
- Set a firm policy on AI use and apply it to staff as well as lawyers.
- Watch for further action from the Court. These guidelines are explicitly preliminary.
Worth watching
The New Jersey State Bar Association has also published its own Task Force on AI report. It is a separate document from a different body, and the Court’s guidelines above are the more authoritative of the two.
How this compares with ABA Formal Opinion 512
The ABA's national opinion requires a client's informed consent before information relating to the representation goes into a self-learning AI tool, and says boilerplate consent in an engagement letter isn't enough. Read the Opinion 512 summary and firm checklist.
Keep client documents on a server that’s only yours
A Private AI Workspace runs on a GPU server ordered for one firm. Your documents, the AI model and the database stay on it, it never trains on your files, and answers cite the page they came from. It costs $499 a month, flat.
Sources
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Not legal advice. This is a plain-English summary of the Preliminary Guidelines, written by the team that makes ClientSafeAI, and it hasn't been reviewed by a lawyer. Read the source itself, and ask the New Jersey bar's ethics hotline if you're unsure how it applies to you.