In Texas, a lawyer’s duty of competence includes a duty to become and remain proficient and competent regarding the risks associated with relevant technology. See, Cmt. 8 to Rule 1.01 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. This duty of technological competence extends to novel technologies such as Generative AI (GAI).

[I]f a lawyer opts to use a generative AI tool in the practice of law, the lawyer must have a reasonable and current understanding of the technology—because only then can the lawyer evaluate the associated risks of hallucinations or inaccurate answers, the limitations that may be imposed by the model’s use of incomplete or inaccurate data, and the potential for exposing client confidential information.

Texas Professional Ethics Committee Opinion 705.

In order to help our insureds comply with this duty, TLI has developed several resources on the ethical use of…