AI Governance Phase 0™ Assessment App
If your AI use isn’t documented, it isn’t defensible.
AI Governance Phase 0™ Assessment is a proprietary system and trademark of KeaneAdvisors.AI.
Patent Pending. All rights reserved.
If your firm cannot demonstrate how its AI use is evaluated, governed, and documented, it is not defensible.
Exposure puts your clients, your firm, and your license at risk.
Don’t think it can happen to you?
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Try the Free Self Assessment Tool to determine if you have current liability in use of AI by your firm or yourself.
Artificial intelligence is now embedded in legal research platforms, drafting tools, client communication systems, litigation analytics, and document review workflows.
For small law firms, the ethical question is no longer whether to use AI.
The question is whether AI use is defensible under the Rules of Professional Conduct.
The AI Governance Phase 0 - Assessment
Is a structured, attorney-focused review designed specifically for solo practitioners and firms of up to fifty attorneys.
It is the first step in a defensible AI governance strategy.
Why The AI Governance Phase 0 - Assessment Exists
The Phase 0 Assessment identifies the exposure points before they become problems.
ABA Model Rules 1.1, 1.6, 5.1, 5.3, and 3.3 now directly intersect with AI usage.
ABA Formal Opinion 512 clarifies that lawyers must:
Understand the benefits and risks of generative AI
Protect client confidentiality
Supervise AI outputs
Verify accuracy before submission to a tribunal
Conduct vendor due diligence
Most small firms are already using AI tools — often without a documented governance framework.
This creates exposure in:
Malpractice claims
Insurance underwriting
Client audits
Judicial scrutiny
Bar disciplinary review
Who This Is For
Solo practitioners
2–50 attorney firms
Managing partners
Risk partners
Firms currently using AI informally
Firms preparing for insurance renewal
Firms concerned about regulatory trajectory
What You Receive
This is not legal advice.
It is structured governance risk analysis tailored to legal practice.
Structured AI Governance Risk Report
Confidentiality & Vendor Exposure Analysis
Supervisory Risk Summary
Compliance Gap Identification
Governance Readiness Score
Written Recommendations for Phase 1 (Policy Design)
Professional Responsibility Is the Standard
AI use intersects directly with:
Rule 1.1 – Competence
Rule 1.6 – Confidentiality
Rule 5.1 – Supervisory Responsibilities
Rule 5.3 – Nonlawyer Assistance
Rule 3.3 – Candor Toward the Tribunal
Unstructured AI adoption may implicate each of these.
Structured governance protects your firm.
What the Phase 0 Assessment Covers
The Assessment evaluates your firm’s AI posture across six core domains. Each domain is evaluated based on your responses to about 100 total Control Statements. Each response is weighted and included in the overall AI Governance Defensibility Score.
Most Firms conducting the Assessment will score between 1 and 2. These are failing grades. As issues are addressed, the score reflects the changes in the Defensibility Score. A score of 3, while indicating work still needs to be done, shows a manageable risk level. Through further refinement the score may elevate to 4 - raises the defensibility score
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Where AI is currently being used
Who is using it
For what purpose
Whether usage is supervised
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Client data exposure pathways
Vendor data residency
Retention policies
Subprocessor risks
Encryption standards
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AI output validation processes
Citation verification
Draft review workflows
Tribunal submission safeguards
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Contractual review standards
SOC 2 / security certifications
Training data usage policies
Breach notification procedures
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Attorney AI competence training
Staff education
Documentation practices
Supervisory responsibility alignment
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Malpractice carrier AI questionnaires
Underwriting implications
Documentation readiness
The Governance Framework: Assess → Design → Deploy
Small firms need more than informal tech adoption.
They need infrastructure.
Assess
Identify risks.
Document usage.
Map exposure.
Design
Create governance policies.
Establish supervision protocols.
Formalize vendor standards.
Deploy
Train attorneys and staff.
Implement documented workflows.
Maintain audit trails.
Phase 0 is the Assess stage.
Without it, policy drafting is guesswork.
Not doing it is simply irresponsible, leaving you with no defense when the inevitable discipline occurs.
Why Act Now
Over the next five years:
AI competence CLE will expand nationally
Courts will increase scrutiny of AI-generated filings
Malpractice carriers will request governance documentation
Clients will expect AI transparency
Firms that wait will govern reactively.
Firms that assess early govern strategically.
Professional Responsibility Is the Standard
AI use intersects directly with:
Rule 1.1 – Competence
Rule 1.6 – Confidentiality
Rule 5.1 – Supervisory Responsibilities
Rule 5.3 – Nonlawyer Assistance
Rule 3.3 – Candor Toward the Tribunal
Unstructured AI adoption may implicate each of these.
Structured governance protects your firm.
Begin With Phase 0
Before scaling AI usage
Before insurance renewal.
Before a client asks about data residency.
Before a court questions AI-generated work product.
Conduct an AI Governance Phase 0 - Assessment.
Schedule a Confidential Consultation
Book a 30-minute conversation to determine whether your firm would benefit from a structured governance review:
AI is now part of legal infrastructure.
Governance must be as well.
Schedule a Consultation
© 2026 KeaneAdvisors.AI. AI Governance Phase 0™ Assessment is a proprietary system and a trademark of KeaneAdvisors.AI. Patent Pending. All rights reserved.