Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Oct. 6, 2026
California keeps AI in the passenger seat
Practicing law requires intelligent use of artificial assistance. SB 574, now the law, provides guidelines and guardrails.
Wendy L. Patrick
Wendy is a California lawyer, past chair and advisor of the California State Bar Ethics Committee (Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct), and past chair of the San Diego County Bar Association Legal Ethics Committee. Any opinions expressed here are her own, and do not reflect that of her employer. This article does not constitute legal advice.
California has officially racked up another first-of-its-kind law, this one governing the way lawyers do business and showcase their work. On Sept. 30, 2026, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 574 into law, first-in-the-nation legislation that regulates the use of generative artificial intelligence in legal work. Expanding on state court rules, it prohibits lawyers from delegating the practice of law to AI, restricts the sharing of confidential information with AI and imposes new disclosure requi...
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