Executive Director's Report • September 2025

Introducing Your New AI Toolkit

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We’ve all been inundated with articles and advice on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in law in the last few years. With so much information and so many opinions out there, it can be tough to know where to start to get a handle on the topic. I have some good news to share on that score.

For the past two bar years, volunteers and staff at your State Bar have been working hard to understand these technological developments and how to use them ethically. In 2023, under the leadership of then-President Cindy Tisdale, the Bar’s Board of Directors created the Taskforce for Responsible AI in the Law (TRAIL).

After two years of research and discussion, the task force, along with our Law Practice Resources Division staff, have created and launched a new comprehensive resource on AI for Texas lawyers. The State Bar of Texas AI Toolkit is available now at texasbarpractice.com/ artificial-intelligence-toolkit.

This toolkit is the first of its kind created by any state bar in the nation. The online resource addresses both practical and ethical concerns of the legal community in using AI.

The toolkit is tailored for Texas lawyers, and its initial chapter on ethics and professional responsibility ties understanding AI to an attorney’s obligation to maintain technological competence, as outlined in the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct (TDRPC). It also outlines the responsibility to independently verify conclusions generated by AI and best practices on how to bill clients for AI-generated work products.
But how should you decide which AI product to use? The toolkit has a chapter on best practices in AI procurement and vendor selection and how to identify the benefits and risks of different products.

When should you use AI—and when shouldn’t you? A chapter on liability and risk management discusses the potential uses of AI in your law firm and the risks associated with each task. It also includes strategies on how to mitigate risks.

A separate chapter includes samples for possible uses of AI in a law practice. Some of these include using AI for reading and analyzing long documents or contracts; drafting memos, meeting summaries, briefs, or contracts; continuing education and training; and firm operations like client intake, chatbots, calendar management, document management, and billing automation.

With any new technology, we all worry about data breaches. The toolkit’s chapter on data privacy and security discusses how to work with your AI vendor to address client confidentiality, regular auditing and monitoring, data deletion policies, and the need for ongoing training for your staff. And since you’ll need a policy around your firm’s use of AI, the toolkit also has a chapter on AI policy and governance.

Once you decide to use AI in your firm, how should you talk to your clients about it? The toolkit has recommendations on transparency, obtaining consent, and creating standard disclosures that align with TDRPC communication rules.

In addition to addressing the use of AI for law firms, the toolkit tackles the topic of AI in the courts. This chapter discusses how courts might use the technology and includes suggestions for judicial officers on the responsible use of AI as it regards verifying its accuracy, understanding its limitations, safeguarding privacy, and following local disclosure rules.

Finally, the toolkit has links to additional resources from the State Bar and other legal thought leaders on AI, including CLE programs, reports, articles, videos, podcasts, and more.

We all know that the use of technology in the law will be an ongoing challenge. With the wrap-up of TRAIL’s outstanding work, the Bar’s Board of Directors has transferred its mandate to a new standing committee on emerging technology. Together, the committee and bar staff will continue to update the AI toolkit as needed and keep their eyes on trends that could impact your practice in the future.

Sincerely,

TREY APFFEL Executive Director, State Bar of Texas Editor in Chief, Texas Bar Journal