In our October 28, 2024 article, we examined the responsible and ethical use of Generative AI (GAI) based on ABA Formal Ethics Opinion 512. Last week, the Texas Professional Ethics Committee published Opinion 705 further commenting on the “high-level” and current ethical issues facing lawyers in Texas regarding the use of GAI. The opinion came at the request of the State Bar of Texas’s Taskforce on Responsible AI in the Law (TRAIL). 

The first ethical issue is competence. 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.  While this duty to be technologically competent does not require a lawyer to use of GAI, or require lawyers to be experts…