Law Society guidance keeps professional responsibility with the solicitor

On October 22, 2026, the Law Society of England and Wales announced a new practice note stating that responsibility cannot be transferred to an AI system and calling for human oversight, informed professional judgment and a proportionate risk-based approach. The note addresses governance, confidentiality, privilege, court duties, supervision, billing, insurance, cybersecurity and client transparency. Although it is UK guidance rather than a rule for US firms, its control categories provide a practical cross-border checklist for mid-sized firms that cannot maintain separate governance regimes for every office. Firms should map each deployed workflow to a responsible lawyer, approved data environment, verification step and client-disclosure position rather than relying on a general acceptable-use policy.