Extract from Alex Brown, Alysa Austin, and Karla Doe’s article “Navigating Privilege Risks in the Age of AI: Practical Guidance for Legal Teams”
As tools using generative artificial intelligence (AI) become more integrated into legal workflows, they introduce new and complex risks to attorney-client privilege, confidentiality, and discoverability. Data retention practices, unclear usage protocols and even routine interactions with AI tools can inadvertently expose confidential communications and compromise critical legal protections.
This article outlines key risk areas and offers practical strategies for mitigating exposure, preserving privilege, and staying ahead of evolving legal standards.
- AI Data Retention and Disclosure Risks
Generative AI platforms often retain user inputs and outputs for training purposes, and if privileged or confidential client information is entered into public or nonsecure AI tools, it may be stored and become discoverable in later litigation. AI platforms that don’t have clear data-handling policies or maintain weak security practices increase the risk.
