Artificial intelligence has arrived in the practice of law, and it has arrived loudly. Depending on the headline, it is either going to replace your attorney or get your attorney into trouble. Neither version is quite right.
What matters to the people we represent is simpler: Is the work done well? Is your information protected? Is a lawyer exercising judgment and taking responsibility for the advice you receive?
At the Law Office of Barry E. Janay, P.C., we approach AI as we approach every other professional tool. We use it where it can help us work more efficiently and thoroughly. We do not use it where it would put client confidentiality, accuracy, or the outcome of a matter at risk. All substantive legal advice, legal analysis, client specific legal communications, and court bound work are reviewed and approved by an attorney before they are sent or filed.
AI Assists; Lawyers Decide
The most important thing to understand about our use of AI is what it does not do.
It does not decide your legal strategy. It does not determine what we file, what we concede, what we negotiate, or what legal advice we give. It does not make decisions about your estate plan, probate proceeding, real estate transaction, family law matter, tax matter, or other legal issue.
Those are judgment calls. Judgment, experience, and accountability are what you hire a lawyer for.
AI can be useful for work surrounding legal judgment: organizing materials, helping identify documents or issues that require closer attorney review, preparing a preliminary outline or first draft, and reducing repetitive administrative work. Used responsibly, it is a tool, not a decision maker. Like any work prepared with assistance, it is checked before anyone relies on it.
The Rules We Follow
This is not merely a matter of firm policy. Lawyers using AI remain subject to the same professional duties that apply to all legal work.
In January 2024, the New Jersey Judiciary issued preliminary guidelines on attorneys’ use of artificial intelligence. The guidelines emphasize that lawyers must verify AI generated information for accuracy, protect confidential and nonpublic client information, understand the capabilities and limitations of the tools they use, and properly supervise staff and technology assisted work. A lawyer remains responsible for the work product submitted to a court, provided to a client, or relied upon in a matter.
On July 29, 2024, the American Bar Association issued Formal Opinion 512, its first comprehensive ethics guidance concerning generative AI. The opinion connects AI use to lawyers’ existing duties of competence, confidentiality, communication, supervision, candor, and reasonable fees.
One billing point is especially important. A firm may charge reasonable fees for attorney time spent using an AI tool in connection with a client’s matter and for reviewing and verifying its work. But, in most circumstances, the cost of learning how to use new technology is the firm’s responsibility, not the client’s.
We treat these standards as a floor, not a ceiling.
What Responsible Use Means
A few practical commitments follow from those principles.
Confidentiality comes first. We do not place client information into consumer AI chatbots or systems that have not been evaluated for appropriate confidentiality and security protections. Before using an AI enabled system with nonpublic client information, we consider the provider’s confidentiality terms, data retention practices, access controls, security measures, and whether submitted information may be used to train or improve a public model. When appropriate, we limit or remove identifying information before using a tool.
Every output is independently verified. No legal authority, citation, factual assertion, quoted source, or legal conclusion is relied upon merely because an AI tool produced it. It must be checked against reliable source material and evaluated in the context of the client’s actual facts. Courts have sanctioned lawyers for submitting fabricated citations generated by AI. The lesson is straightforward: technology may assist the work, but it does not eliminate the need to verify it.
A lawyer owns the work. Attorney review is not a formality. It is the step that turns a preliminary draft, summary, or organizational aid into legal work product. We use professional judgment to test the output, correct errors, account for missing context, and reject material that is unreliable or unsuitable.
We recognize AI’s limitations. AI tools can sound confident while being wrong. They can miss facts, misunderstand context, omit important exceptions, or reflect bias present in the information on which they were trained. We do not treat apparent fluency as accuracy.
We will answer your questions. If you want to know whether AI is being used in connection with your matter, ask us. We will answer directly. If the use of AI would be material to your representation, your information, or your ability to make an informed decision about our services, we will discuss it with you.
What This Can Do for Clients
When used carefully, AI can help us move routine groundwork forward more efficiently.
It can assist with organizing records, reviewing large sets of documents for attorney follow up, preparing preliminary drafts, and reducing repetitive administrative work. That can improve responsiveness and allow us to devote more lawyer time to the work where legal experience makes the greatest difference: strategy, judgment, negotiation, client counseling, and careful attention to the facts unique to your matter.
It can also support thoroughness. Large document sets can be difficult and time consuming to manage. A well directed technology assisted review can help identify materials that deserve closer attention, while an attorney remains responsible for determining what matters and what action should be taken.
Finally, it can help us communicate more clearly. We have always tried to explain legal issues in plain language rather than bury clients in jargon. When technology reduces unnecessary administrative work, it gives us more time to focus on you, your questions, and your decisions.
The Bottom Line
AI can be a useful tool. It is not your lawyer, and it does not replace one.
At the Law Office of Barry E. Janay, P.C., substantive legal work remains the responsibility of a licensed attorney. We use technology to support careful, efficient representation, not to substitute automated output for professional judgment.
If you have questions about technology, confidentiality, billing, or how we handle your matter, we are always glad to discuss them with you.
Barry E. Janay, Esq. is a seasoned New York and New Jersey attorney with over 20 years of legal experience, focusing on estate planning, probate, business law, and complex legal matters. As the founder of The Law Office of Barry E. Janay, he provides strategic, results-driven legal guidance to individuals and businesses navigating high-stakes decisions.
Barry has served as senior counsel and general counsel across multiple industries, bringing deep expertise in regulatory compliance, contracts, and corporate strategy. Known for his direct, no-nonsense approach, he helps clients resolve legal challenges efficiently while protecting their long-term interests.
He is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, and multiple federal courts, and has been recognized for his professional excellence and client-focused advocacy.
