Synopsis:

As generative artificial intelligence (“Gen AI”) becomes increasingly integrated into legal practice, practitioners face risks such as hallucinations, confidentiality breaches, and misuse of AI-generated content. This foundational e-learning module provides a practical and comprehensive guide to the ethical and professional use of Gen AI in legal work. Grounded in Singapore’s key regulatory frameworks, including Rules 5 and 6 of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015, the Supreme Court’s Gen AI Guide, MinLaw's Gen AI Guide, and the Law Society’s Gen AI Advisory, the module equips learners with practical tools and safeguards to manage these risks responsibly.

By analysing local and overseas case precedents, the module emphasises three essential pillars of practitioner accountability: (1) the non-delegable duty to verify AI outputs to prevent fictitious citations and hallucinations; (2) the duty to protect client confidentiality through proper data handling, redaction, and the avoidance of public AI models; and (3) the duty of transparency regarding AI use. Finally, it outlines actionable best practices, risk-assessment frameworks (e.g. Human-in-the-Loop vs Human-on-the-Loop), and precautions for selecting enterprise Gen AI tools.

Keywords:

Generative AI, Duty to Verify, Client Confidentiality, Transparency, AI Hallucinations, Human-in-the-Loop, Fictitious cases