AI Ethics in Law

AI ethics in law is a central concern for the legal profession. It rests on several core principles: the transparency of the algorithms used, the prevention of discriminatory bias, respect for confidentiality and legal professional privilege, mandatory human oversight of AI outputs, and the professional accountability of the lawyer who uses these tools.

In France, the National Bar Council (Conseil National des Barreaux, CNB) set up a dedicated working group and published a practical guide for lawyers. In December 2025, the CNB took a significant step by amending the definition of legal advice to account for the use of AI. In parallel, a national AI training programme was launched for France's 78,000 lawyers through the Skilia platform.

The key issue is to ensure that AI remains a tool that serves the professional rather than a substitute for human judgement. The lawyer remains fully accountable for any content produced with the help of AI, whether court submissions, legal opinions or correspondence. This accountability calls for systematic verification and a critical eye on automated outputs.