AI has quickly become a daily reality in most legal practices. Across the profession, firms are using AI to draft documents, summarise materials, review contracts and support legal research. What was once seen as innovation is now embedded in routine work.

That shift is exactly why the latest guidance from the Law Society of England and Wales matters so much. It is not just a practical guide to buying technology. It is an indication that how law firms approach AI has evolved into a professional responsibility.

AI governance Is lagging 

The timing of this guidance is critical. As noted, AI is already being used across the legal sector, often in ways that are informal, inconsistent and not fully understood. Lawyers and support staff are experimenting with tools that promise speed and convenience, but often without always knowing how those tools process data, how reliable the outputs are, or what risks sit beneath the surface.

The Law Society’s guidance reflects the reality that the issue is no longer whether AI has value. It’s whether firms are adopting it with the discipline that they should. In many cases, adoption has outpaced governance, leaving firms exposed in ways they may not yet fully appreciate.

Procurement is no longer just an IT decision 

One of the most important shifts in the guidance is how it reframes technology adoption. This is not only about buying software. It is about managing risk. A weak procurement decision can quickly evolve into a breach of confidentiality or a failure to comply with regulatory obligations or a breakdown in client service. In legal practice, these are not just operational inconveniences. They are also professional failures.

By setting out a structured process from identifying a genuine business need through to evaluating performance, the guidance emphasises that firms must be able to justify their decisions. A technology purchase should be evidence-based and aligned with the firm’s broader obligations.

When AI gets it wrong

Possibly the most immediate and visible risk in AI use is accuracy. AI systems can generate outputs that appear polished and authoritative but are fundamentally incorrect. Courts have already had to deal with the consequences, including cases where lawyers submitted filings containing entirely fabricated legal authorities generated by AI tools.

There have been well over a thousand instances globally where legal decisions reference the misuse of AI-generated content. Studies have also shown that even specialist legal AI tools can produce incorrect outputs at a notable rate.

For law firms, the legal position is clear that responsibility does not shift. The solicitor remains accountable for the work, regardless of whether AI was involved. Duties to the court and to the client remain unchanged, and every piece of work must still be verified and signed off by a human lawyer.

The risks at the core of legal practice

If accuracy is the most visible risk, data protection is the most fundamental. Legal work depends on the careful handling of confidential information but many AI tools operate in environments where data storage, access and reuse are not fully transparent. Without proper safeguards, firms may be exposing sensitive client data in ways that breach regulatory requirements and undermine trust.

The guidance makes it clear that these risks often originate at the procurement stage. If a firm does not fully understand how a system handles data such as where it is stored, who can access it, and whether it is reused, then the risk is already embedded before the tool is even deployed.

For a profession built on confidentiality, this goes to the heart of client relationships and regulatory compliance.

Informal and uncontrolled AI use

One of the most significant challenges is the rise of informal AI use within firms. The greatest exposure often comes from tools used quietly and without oversight. A lawyer experimenting with a free platform or a team using AI to speed up routine work, may unintentionally create serious risk if there are no clear rules governing what can be entered, how outputs should be checked, and where responsibility sits.

This creates a gap between formal policy and day-to-day behaviour. It is in that gap that many of the most serious issues arise.

Smaller firms need to pay attention

While larger firms may have dedicated technology and compliance teams, smaller and mid-sized firms often do not. But the regulatory expectations remain exactly the same.

This makes the guidance from the Law Society of England and Wales especially important for those firms. Without a clear, structured approach, there is very little margin for error. Decisions made too quickly or without fully understanding the risks can lead to serious and disproportionate consequences.

The guidance effectively provides a blueprint for firms that may not have in-house expertise, helping them approach technology decisions with the same level of rigour expected across the profession.

Where risk becomes reality

Adopting AI is not a one-off decision. It is an ongoing operational responsibility. Once a tool is introduced, firms need clear frameworks governing its use like who can use it, for what purposes, and under what level of supervision. Training is essential, but it must be supported by monitoring, review and clear escalation pathways when issues arise.

This is particularly relevant in high-volume, process-driven areas of law, where the efficiency gains of AI are most attractive. These are also the environments where mistakes can scale quickly if controls are not in place.

One of the guidance’s main message is that human oversight cannot be treated as a one-time step. Verification is an ongoing requirement. Every AI-generated output that contributes to legal work must be checked, validated and approved by a qualified professional. This has become a professional obligation.

Technology can assist, but it cannot replace legal judgment. The responsibility remains firmly with the lawyer.

The consequences of getting it wrong

The risks associated with poor AI adoption are not hypothetical. They translate directly into legal and regulatory exposure. Firms may face breaches of professional rules, data protection violations, or claims arising from negligent advice. Courts are increasingly alert to the misuse of AI-generated material, and reputational damage can follow quickly where errors occur.

Importantly, none of these consequences are mitigated by the involvement of AI. The firm remains accountable. The presence of technology only reinforces the need to manage them carefully.

The Law Society’s guidance does not argue against the use of AI. It recognises its potential to improve efficiency and free up time for higher-value work. What it does insist on is structure, discipline and accountability. Firms must be able to explain why they are adopting a tool, how they assessed it, what risks were identified and how those risks are being managed. This creates a framework for adoption and for defensibility.

Innovation and responsibility

AI is already reshaping legal practice. The question is no longer whether firms will use it, but how responsibly they will do so. The firms that succeed will be those that understand that efficiency gains cannot come at the expense of accuracy, confidentiality or trust.

In the legal profession, innovation is valuable. But it only works when it is anchored in the standards that define the profession itself.

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