New York State Bar: lawyers cannot bill for time saved by AI
Under guidance from the New York State Bar Association, lawyers may not bill clients for time saved through AI, nor for the time spent learning the tool. The guidance also covers confidentiality and court filings.
Who is affected and how
- lawyer
- In hourly billing, time saved by AI must not be charged, and the client must be able to see the arrangement in advance.
- corporate lawyer
- Outside firms' invoices are worth checking for transparency on AI use and for how the savings are shared.
Sources
- NY State Bar Says Attys Can't Bill Time Saved By AI - Law360law360.com · Nov 2, 2026
- New York State Bar Association tells lawyers not to bill for time saved by AIaba journal · Nov 3, 2026
- New York State Bar adopts AI guidance limiting what lawyers can billlawzana.com · Nov 4, 2026
- New York Bar Issues AI Guidelines on Billing, Confidentiality, and Court Filingsfindlaw · Nov 5, 2026
- New York Bar Issues AI Guidelines on Billing, Confidentiality, and Court Filings - FindLawfindlaw.com · Nov 5, 2026
- AI Effects on Fees Requires Transparency With Clients, Attorneys at Harvey Event Saylaw.com · Nov 6, 2026
- Billable time is an incomplete measure of AI productivity — AI Law Firm Newsailawfirmnews.com · Nov 5, 2026
Machine-generated summary based on the titles and excerpts of the source articles. The source article is the authority for the facts. News monitoring, not legal advice.