AI Governance for Law Firms

Is Your Firm's AI Use Defensible?

Most small law firms are already using AI — without a governance framework. That creates direct exposure under Rules 1.1, 1.6, 3.3, and 5.3. We help you fix that before courts, clients, or bar counsel ask the question. We call that Defensible AITM.

Typical Firm — Governance Posture
1.3 / 5.0
⚠ Critical — Immediate Action Required
Confidentiality Controls1.2
Output Verification1.0
Supervision & Accountability1.5
Policy & Documentation1.1
Tool Approval & Access1.8
This is where most firms start. Your Defensibility Score is free to discover.

Run your assessment now →
350+ Attorneys sanctioned for AI misuse
50 States with active court scrutiny
$0 Cost to assess your current exposure
View the full sanctions list →
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Published Author Practical AI for Small Law Firms
⚖️
CLE Accredited GA · OH · SC · More pending
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Sanctions Tracker 350+ cases, updated weekly
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Patent Pending Phase 0™ Assessment methodology

AI risk comes from ungoverned adoption — not from adoption itself.

Every firm using AI without documented governance has the same problem: no defensible position when something goes wrong. Our methodology — starting with the AI Governance Phase 0 Assessment — fixes that in a structured, measurable way.

00
Phase Zero
AI Governance Phase 0 Assessment

Score your current AI governance posture across 100+ controls mapped to ABA Model Rules. Identify exactly where your exposure is — before courts, carriers, or clients find it first. Produces a Defensibility Score and a written remediation roadmap.

01
Phase One
Design

Use your Phase 0 Assessment results to build a governance architecture — written policies, supervision protocols, vendor standards, confidentiality safeguards, documentation requirements. Specific to your firm, your tools, and your practice areas.

02
Phase Two
Deploy

Implement governance into daily operations. Train attorneys and staff. Establish audit trails. Maintain the framework as regulations evolve. Repeat the AI Governance Phase 0 Assessment on a defined cadence to document governance improvement over time.

The ABA Model Rules don’t pause when you open ChatGPT.

Five rules are directly implicated every time your firm uses AI. Without documented governance, each one is a potential disciplinary exposure.

Rule 1.1
CompetenceAttorneys must understand AI capabilities and limitations — including hallucination risk — and document how they verify outputs before use.
Rule 1.6
ConfidentialityClient data entered into unapproved AI systems may constitute unauthorized disclosure. Vendor data retention policies must be reviewed before any tool is approved.
Rule 3.3
Candor to TribunalThe most frequently sanctioned rule. AI-generated citations that are unverified and submitted to a court create direct disciplinary liability.
Rules 5.1 / 5.3
SupervisionAI is a non-lawyer assistant. Partners are responsible for firm-wide AI supervision. No output is exempt from review. No delegation of professional judgment is permitted.
350+
Attorneys sanctioned for improper AI use

KeaneAdvisors.AI maintains the most comprehensive public tracker of attorney AI sanctions in the United States — assembled from court records, bar orders, and published disciplinary actions. The list grows weekly.

View the Sanctions Tracker →

ABA Formal Opinion 512 makes clear: supervision, verification, and confidentiality obligations apply to every AI tool in your firm. Undocumented AI use is, by definition, unsupervised AI use.

Your firm’s Defensibility Score — in under an hour.

More than 100 governance controls. Three sections — Professional Ethics, Organizational Governance, and Technology Readiness. Every control maps to a specific ABA Model Rule or governance requirement. The result is a scored, documented, timestamped record of your governance posture — and the foundation for everything that follows in Phase 1 and Phase 2.

Defensibility Score (1.0–5.0) — a composite metric with section and category breakdowns showing exactly where your exposure is.
PDF Governance Report — a formal document suitable for malpractice carriers, institutional clients, or bar counsel. Included in paid plans.
Vendor Inventory — documented record of every AI tool in use, its risk classification, and supporting agreements (DPAs, Terms of Service).
Remediation Roadmap — prioritized list of controls scoring 1 or 2, with specific recommendations for each. The direct input to Phase 1 Design.
Timestamped baseline — preserve your Phase 0 score and document governance improvement over time as you advance through Phase 1 and Phase 2.
Choose Your Plan
AI Governance Phase 0
Starter
Up to 19 attorneys · Full assessment + dashboard
FREE
Small Firm
20–49 attorneys · Includes PDF Report
$19.95/mo
or $199.50/year
Midsize Firm
50+ attorneys · Includes PDF Report
$29.95/mo
or $299.50/year
Start Free Assessment →

No credit card required for Starter. Upgrade anytime.

More ways to build a defensible practice.

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Book — Available on Amazon
Practical AI for Small Law Firms

The only AI governance guide written specifically for solo practitioners and firms up to 50 attorneys. Mapped to ABA Formal Opinion 512. Focuses on evaluation, risk, and defensible decision-making — not tool tutorials.

Request a complimentary copy →
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CLE — 1.0 Ethics Credit
Practical AI in Small Law Firms — CLE

Accredited in Georgia, Ohio, and South Carolina. All other states pending. Covers ABA Model Rules, Formal Opinion 512, real-world sanctions, and the Assess → Design → Deploy framework. Self-paced, online.

Enroll in the CLE program →
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Free Public Resource
Attorney AI Sanctions Tracker

Nearly 350 U.S. attorneys sanctioned or alleged to have used improper generative AI in legal filings. Data assembled from public court records. Updated weekly. The most comprehensive tracker of its kind.

Search the sanctions database →
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Advisory Engagement
Phase 1 Design & Phase 2 Implementation

For firms ready to move beyond the AI Governance Phase 0 Assessment into structured governance design and controlled deployment. Phase 1 produces a written governance framework. Phase 2 is a supervised pilot implementation with documented checkpoints.

Schedule a consultation →

Before a client asks about data residency.
Before a court questions your filing.
Before a carrier denies coverage.

The AI Governance Phase 0 Assessment costs nothing to start. It takes less than an hour. It produces a documented, timestamped record that your firm took governance seriously — when it counted.

Content on this website is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
AI Governance Phase 0™ is a trademark of KeaneAdvisors.AI. Patent Pending. © 2026 KeaneAdvisors.AI. All rights reserved.