Kaufman Ops

AI settings for a small law firm in New Jersey

Checked against the source documents on October 26, 2026

The New Jersey Supreme Court's 2026 starter AI policy tells firms to turn off any setting that lets prompts or documents train or be shared, and to check how a vendor uses firm data. The settings that answer that are on the main checklist. This page says which ones New Jersey points at, and why.

What New Jersey has said

Supreme Court of New Jersey (Chief Justice Rabner and Acting Administrative Director Grant; recommended by the Supreme Court Committee on Artificial Intelligence and the Courts): Notice to the Bar 2024-01-24 (posted 2024-01-25), Legal Practice: Preliminary Guidelines on the Use of Artificial Intelligence by New Jersey Lawyers, 2024-01-24.

  1. Confidentiality. RPC 1.6 applies; lawyer must make reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized disclosure and confirm the AI system is secure before entering non-public client information (p.5).
  2. Competence. RPC 1.1 not cited by name; p.4 says AI does not change the duty of diligence and lawyers must stay aware of new applications and challenges.
  3. Supervision. RPC 5.1 and 5.3 oversight of lawyers, staff, students and interns extends to ensuring their ethical use of AI (p.6).
  4. Fees. AI likely will affect billing; RPC 1.5 reasonableness applies; detail deferred to future guidelines (p.6).
  5. Disclosure. To clients: no duty to disclose every AI use, but disclose if asked or if needed for an informed decision (Preliminary Guidelines p.5); 2026 Starter Policy Sec. 6 says inform clients before AI is used in any material way and that added disclosure or consent may be appropriate.
  6. Verification. Lawyer has an ethical duty to check and verify all AI-generated output; hallucinated case law and sanction cases described (p.3-4).

The line about the tool itself. Preliminary Guidelines (2024): no settings or terms discussion beyond confirming the system is secure before entering client information (p.5). The 2026-03-30 Notice's Starter AI Use Policy fills the gap: Sec. 3.C requires diligence on the vendor's privacy, retention, security and data-use practices; Sec. (Notice to the Bar 2026-03-30, Starter AI Use Policy, Sec. 3.C (Only use approved)

One line from it: "ensure the security of an AI system before entering" (Preliminary Guidelines, p.5).

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. Pick a rule on memory, and teach temporary or incognito chats for one-off matter questions. On the checklist
  7. Put the vendor's written terms on training, retention, subprocessors and breach notice in the file. On the checklist
  8. Write the one-page staff instruction and a note for each new hire. On the checklist
  9. Keep a verification step before anything is filed. That is a procedure, not a setting, and no vendor sells it. On the checklist
  10. 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: No. Supreme Court declined the proposed RPC 1.1 comment on benefits and risks of relevant technology (Notice to the Bar 2025-04-02, n250404a.pdf);

Technology CLE: 1 credit per two-year reporting cycle in technology-related subjects (AI, cybersecurity, digital evidence, vendor oversight) out of the 24 required; R. (rule)

Court rule on AI in filings: Preliminary Guidelines on New Jersey Lawyers' Use of Artificial Intelligence (Notice to the Bar) and 2026-03-30 Notice., 2024-01-24 (notice n240125a); 2026-03-30. What it asks of the signer: none (RPC do not require disclosure); verification implied.

In motion: Technology CLE requirement adopted but not yet in force; takes effect 2027-01-01 (first compliance cycle ends 2027-12-31). Comment period on implementing regulations closed 2026-01-30. 2027-01-01 source; Preliminary Guidelines (2024) said more detailed guidance would follow; the 2026-03-30 Notice on AI policies is that follow-on guidance (encourages, does not require, firm AI policies; a policy is not a safe harbor). No ACPE opinion on AI found; the ACPE opinions index page on njcourts.gov could not be loaded (client error) on 2026-10-26. 2026-03-30 source

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

Nick Kaufman

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.