The SRA hasn't written new rules for AI. Its notice of 17 August 2026 explains how the existing rules apply when someone in your office uses an AI tool, and what happens when they don't. For most firms that's more useful than a new rulebook.
If you run a conveyancing, probate or family practice with a dozen people, the notice is worth ten minutes of your time. Below is what it says, followed by what I'd put in place.
Why the SRA published it
The notice names two concerns. The first is court and other documents containing false information, including invented case citations, because AI output wasn't checked. The SRA says it has received reports of potential breaches from senior members of the judiciary, and that several solicitors have reported themselves after relying on AI tools that produced inaccurate or misleading content.
The second is client confidentiality: confidential client information being entered into public AI tools.
It points to real cases. In R (Ayinde) v Haringey LBC [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin), false AI-generated citations were put before the court, and the solicitor and barrister involved faced a wasted costs application and were referred to their regulators. On confidentiality, the notice quotes the Upper Tribunal in UK v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] UKUT 81 (IAC): "to put client letters and decision letters from the Home Office into an open source AI tool, such as ChatGPT, is to place this information on the internet in the public domain".
What does the SRA's warning notice ask of a firm?
That you stay accountable for every piece of work and advice, whether or not AI helped. In practice that means competent, supervised work, only genuine and verifiable citations, client information kept out of AI systems unless contractual, technical and organisational safeguards are in place, and firm-level governance with the COLP taking reasonable steps to ensure compliance.
The central message fits in one sentence: "You remain accountable for all work and advice delivered to clients, whether or not AI has been used in its preparation" (SRA warning notice, Misuse of AI, 17 August 2026).
The notice links that back to the Codes you already work under:
- competent service and effective supervision (paragraphs 3.2 and 3.5 of the Code for Solicitors), including accountability for the work of the people you supervise
- only putting forward what is properly arguable (paragraph 2.4), which means every case you cite should be genuine, relevant and verifiable
- confidentiality (paragraph 6.3 of both Codes)
- effective governance, systems and controls at firm level (paragraph 2.1 of the Code for Firms), with the COLP taking reasonable steps to ensure compliance (paragraph 9.1)
The confidentiality section is the most specific part: "Client information should only be entered into AI systems where appropriate contractual, technical and organisational safeguards are in place to protect confidentiality." Firms should make sure client data stays in a secure environment, isn't used to train AI models unless that's explicitly authorised and appropriate, and isn't kept longer than necessary. The notice also makes the point that this applies to paid tools as well as free ones, depending on the provider's terms and settings.
The last line is blunt: "If you fail to have proper regard to this warning notice, you are at risk of disciplinary action."
What the SRA's compliance tips add
The SRA's compliance tips for solicitors using AI and technology, updated on 9 February 2026, cover the governance side in more detail. As a minimum, the SRA expects the COLP to be responsible for regulatory compliance when new technology is introduced. The tips list what good governance includes: leadership and oversight, risk and impact assessments, policies and procedures, training and awareness, and monitoring.
One line in the tips is easy to miss: "It should always be made clear to clients where they are interfacing with AI." If you use a chatbot on your website, an AI note-taker in meetings, or automated client updates, clients should know.
What should a small law firm put in place for AI?
Six things: a named person responsible for AI, an approved tools register, a short AI policy, a line in your client care letter with a client FAQ, training for everyone who uses AI with a record of attendance, and a light log of AI use on client work. For a firm of five to thirty people it's a few weeks' work.
Most of it takes the form of documents your COLP will recognise.
- 01A named person responsible for AI, usually the COLP or a partner working with them.
- 02An approved tools register. The tools the firm allows, what each may be used for, and which, if any, are approved for client or matter information after checking the provider's terms, where the data is held, and whether it's used for training.
- 03A short AI policy. No client or matter information in unapproved tools, every citation checked against a primary source, and nothing AI-assisted goes to a client or the court without a qualified person reviewing it.
- 04A line in your client care letter explaining how you use AI, and a short FAQ for clients who ask.
- 05Training for everyone who uses AI, including support staff, with a record of who attended.
- 06A light log of AI use on client work, reviewed monthly, so you can show supervision if you're ever asked.
Where should a firm start this month?
Give your COLP ownership of AI, run an anonymous staff survey to learn what's already in use, tell the team that client and matter information stays out of unapproved tools, and check your client care letter and website for anywhere clients meet AI without knowing it.
- Ask your COLP to own AI, and put their name on it.
- Run an anonymous staff survey asking which AI tools people use and whether client information has ever gone in, so you know where you're starting from.
- Tell the team today that client and matter information stays out of AI tools the firm hasn't approved, then write it into a policy.
- Check your client care letter and website for anywhere clients might be dealing with AI without knowing it.
My AI governance kit for law firms has the policy, register, client care wording and training, mapped to the SRA's guidance. If you'd rather I did it with your team, that's the team AI rollout.
Sources
- 01SRA, Warning notice: Misuse of AI, 17 August 2026. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/misuse-ai
- 02SRA, Compliance tips for solicitors regarding the use of AI and technology, updated 9 February 2026. sra.org.uk/solicitors/resources/innovate/compliance-tips-for-solicitors
- 03R (on the application of Ayinde) v Haringey LBC [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin).
- 04UK v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] UKUT 81 (IAC), paragraph 21, as quoted in the SRA's warning notice.
This article is general information, not legal or regulatory advice. Read the SRA's warning notice in full and speak to your COLP about your firm.
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