Bar Council urges caution when using tech tools
Barristers have been issued updated guidance on using ChatGPT and other legal AI tools amid a rise in lawyers inadvertently citing made up cases in court.
The Bar Council has refreshed its advice following recent High Court rulings involving fabricated judgments and the rapid growth of AI across the profession. The message from the bar bigwigs is that AI can be useful, but only when barristers understand what it is doing and keep proper oversight.
The updated guidance stresses that barristers should understand how systems like Google’s Gemini, Perplexity, Harvey and Microsoft Copilot work before relying on them in case preparation. It highlights key risks including hallucinations, information disorder, bias in data training, mistakes and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. It also reminds barristers that AI does not have a conscience or social and emotional intelligence.
Most importantly, the responsibility for accuracy, confidentiality and compliance with professional rules remains entirely with the barrister.
Barbara Mills KC, chair of the Bar Council, said:
“Recent case law, including the High Court judgment, emphasises the dangers of the misuse by lawyers of artificial intelligence, particularly large language models, and its serious implications for public confidence in the administration of justice.”
She continued: “We recognise that the growth of AI tools in the legal sector is inevitable and occurring at a fast pace. As the guidance explains, the best-placed barristers will be those who make the efforts to understand these systems so that they can be used with control and integrity. Any use of AI must be done carefully to safeguard client confidentiality and maintain trust and confidence, privacy, and compliance with applicable laws.”
The guidance also references recent academic research into the reliability of AI legal research tools and notes that authoritative sources remain available at the Inns of Court libraries. It goes on to stress confidentiality, data protection and intellectual property concerns and clarifies that it applies to LLM software specifically aimed at lawyers.
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