California enacts verification and confidentiality duties for lawyer AI use
Inside Practice · OCTOBER 5, 2026 · 1 MIN READ
On September 30, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 574, creating statutory duties for attorneys and arbitrators using generative AI; Reuters reported the enactment on October 1. Effective January 1, 2027, the law bars lawyers from delegating legal practice to AI, requires reasonable verification and correction of AI output, mandates personal verification of citations and court disclosure for AI-created filings, and restricts entry of confidential or nonpublic information into inadequately controlled systems. The requirements overlap with professional duties but convert them into a clearer product and procurement checklist. Vendors serving California lawyers will need controls for confidentiality, provenance, review and disclosure that are usable in the workflow rather than left to policy documents.