Barristers can now use AI for their work.

The new Bar Standards Board (BSB) guidance is useful for anyone trying to understand how AI now fits into barristers’ professional duties.

It starts from a simple position that AI tools may improve the quality, speed, or organisation of legal services, while recognising that they also bring risks that barristers must manage before and during use.

Before adopting an AI tool, barristers should think about why they need it, what it will do, how data is handled, and whether it is suitable for the task.

The guidance is especially clear on client confidentiality. Free or general-purpose AI tools may store prompts, use input data for training, or make sensitive information harder to control.

The BSB also says AI output should be checked before it is used in legal work. It should be adapted and supported by proper legal reasoning.

The guidance does not say barristers must tell clients every time AI is used. It focuses on situations where AI materially affects the nature or scope of the legal service provided. Some clients may expect some transparency, especially if their case details are entered into an AI tool.

It will be interesting to see how this will work in practice.

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