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Regulation Tracker / United States (state)

Legal Ethics Opinion 24-01: Artificial Intelligence

West Virginia Lawyer Disciplinary Board · West Virginia

last revised 2024-06-14last verified 2026-09-041 versioncountry page →

Ethics opinionIn forceCompetenceVerification dutyConfidentialitySupervision

map categories:Bar guidance on generative AIDuty to verify AI outputClient data in AI toolsBilling for AI workTechnological competenceSupervision of AI workDisclosure of AI use in filings

LEI 24-01 holds that nothing in the West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct per se prohibits AI use in law practice. It distinguishes non-generative from generative AI, maps the main legal use cases, and requires lawyers to exercise independent judgment, communicate with clients, maintain confidentiality, keep fees reasonable, comply with advertising rules and supervise AI-assisted work.

Applies to
lawyers, firms
Effective
See version history
Current version
Original · 14 Jun 2024
Last verified
04 Sept 2026
Official text
storage.googleapis.com/msgsndr/Rgd68xOkcVdteTsBkf6O/media/667ac9c219bb…

What the document requires

  • Nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct per se prohibits a lawyer from using AI as a tool in law practice
  • Lawyers must check jurisdiction-specific rules and standing orders on whether generative AI is prohibited, whether disclosure is required, and whether human verification must be certified
  • Lawyers must exercise independent judgment and not delegate it to an AI tool
  • Efficiency gains must not result in double billing or falsely inflated claims of time (Rules 1.5, 8.4(c), 8.4(d))
  • Client confidentiality must be maintained, with particular caution about generative AI intake chatbots
  • AI-assisted work must be supervised as with any other assistance

Version history

VersionDateWhat changedSource
Originalcurrent2024-06-14Initial publicationofficial

Sources

Cite this record

SafeLegalAI Legal AI Regulation Tracker, "Legal Ethics Opinion 24-01: Artificial Intelligence" (West Virginia Lawyer Disciplinary Board, Original, 2024-06-14), safelegalai.com/regulation/us-state/us-wv-legal-ethics-opinion-24-01 (accessed 2026-09-04). Data: CC BY 4.0.

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