Sign in Subscribe

AI

Prompting a Waiver

Prompting a Waiver

Feed confidential documents into an open source #AI tool and you may have just waived legal professional privilege.

That's the risk sitting underneath the rush to adopt AI — and it's the subject of an article I've co-authored with Winsome Hall in the latest edition of Bar News.

We look at how courts in other jurisdictions are starting to grapple with the question, and where that might leave us in Australia. Is it time for "AI privilege" as sought by the CEO of Open AI, Sam Altman? If so, there will have to be a seismic shift in the way we approach legal professional privilege.

Full text attached.

Read next

New Federal Circuit and Family Court Practice Direction on the use of Gen AI

New Federal Circuit and Family Court Practice Direction on the use of Gen AI

A new Practice Direction has recently been published by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA). The Practice Direction applies "regardless of whether a product is ... described as AI, GenAI, smart, assistive or similar". It is therefore capable of reaching the embedded tools few practitioners think

FCA Practice Note on the use of Generative AI

FCA Practice Note on the use of Generative AI

The Federal Court of Australia has released a new Practice Note on the use of Generative AI in proceedings before the Court. The Practice Note outlines the Court’s expectations, highlights the potential benefits of Generative AI, and sets clear guidance on responsible use, accountability and disclosure obligations. It also

United States v. Heppner, No. 25-CR-00503-JSR (S.D.N.Y.)

United States v. Heppner, No. 25-CR-00503-JSR (S.D.N.Y.)

In an address to the Australian Bar Association on 29 August 2025, Bell CJ warned about the lack of adequate safeguards to preserve legal professional privilege when information is submitted to open source Gen AI chatbots. There have not been many (if any) cases squarely addressing this point. Last week,

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.