AI settings for a small law firm in New Hampshire

Checked against the source documents on October 26, 2026

The NHBA Ethics Committee's AI guidance says to read a tool's terms and privacy policy because the vendor may use what you submit. The settings that answer that are on the main checklist. This page says which ones New Hampshire points at, and why.

What New Hampshire has said

New Hampshire Bar Association Ethics Committee (Ethics Corner practical ethics article): Ethics of Using Artificial Intelligence in Practice, 2024-05-15.

1. Confidentiality. Rule 1.6(c): reasonable efforts against unauthorized disclosure; understand how the software works before inputting client information.
2. Competence. Rule 1.1 and ABA cmt. 8: ongoing duty to understand benefits and risks of relevant technology.
3. Supervision. Rules 5.1/5.3: AI use falls within supervision duties if not properly checked.
4. Fees. Main article silent; drafting article notes Rule 1.5 may someday require cost-cutting technology.
5. Disclosure. Main article silent on client disclosure; lawyer must be able to explain AI use to a court if questioned.
6. Verification. Vet AI output (Shepardize, KeyCite); Mata v. Avianca cited; must verify accuracy of results.

One line from it: "prudent for the lawyer to understand how the software works" (Paragraph on Rule 1.6 (Other considerations for using AI)).

The settings that answer it

1. Use the business plan, not a personal one. On Claude Pro, Claude Max and ChatGPT Plus, training on chats is each user's own setting. On Claude Team, ChatGPT Business and Microsoft 365 Copilot with a work sign-in, business data is not used for training by default. On the checklist
2. Turn off the training and feedback exceptions an admin can still turn off (Claude feedback, ChatGPT personal accounts that are still in use). On the checklist
3. Set retention on purpose instead of taking the default. On the checklist
4. Turn on single sign-on so a lawyer who leaves loses access the same day. On the checklist
5. Decide on connectors, apps and agents before staff add them. On the checklist
6. Put the vendor's written terms on training, retention, subprocessors and breach notice in the file. On the checklist
7. Write the one-page staff instruction and a note for each new hire. On the checklist
8. Keep a verification step before anything is filed. That is a procedure, not a setting, and no vendor sells it. On the checklist
9. Decide what the engagement letter says about AI use and billing. That is yours to write; I only flag that the opinion raises it. On the checklist

Rules around it

Technology competence: Partial. N.H. Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.1, Ethics Committee Comment: keep reasonably abreast of readily determinable benefits and risks associated with.

What this page is not

This is a tech settings page, not legal advice. The state document above is the ethics half and it is yours to read and decide on. I am not a lawyer. I link the source so you can check me.

Send me one screenshot

Crop out client names, send me a screenshot of your Claude, ChatGPT or Microsoft 365 admin settings page, and I'll write back what I'd change. Free. I never need a login.

If you want this kept current for your firm, that is the monthly desk: I watch these settings as the vendors change them and as your state changes its guidance, answer staff questions in writing, usually within one business day, and write up setup notes for each new hire. $500 a month, cancel any month.

Email [email protected]

Who wrote this

I'm Nick Kaufman. I've spent six years in customer-facing technical support for SaaS, payments and CRM software, including three years at Tier 2 on a CRM built for financial advisors, whose firms work under SEC and FINRA rules. I'm not a lawyer and I don't give legal advice. I set up software so it does what the people responsible for it decided it should do.

Other states: the full list.