June 1, 2026 (in 3 days): New York: 22 NYCRR Part 161 takes effect, system-wide AI policy for all UCS courts →

AI Policy Employee Acknowledgment Form

A signed acknowledgment from every attorney and staff member who uses AI tools at the Firm. Designed to pair with our Law Firm AI Policy Template.

A blank acknowledgment file is not evidence of a governed program; a signed acknowledgment per person is. Most carrier renewal applications now ask whether all attorneys and staff have acknowledged the firm's AI policy in writing. Have a licensed attorney in your state confirm the form before adoption.
On this page
  1. Why an acknowledgment
  2. Who signs and when
  3. The acknowledgment form
  4. How to file the acknowledgment

Why an acknowledgment

Under Rules 5.1 and 5.3, ABA Formal Opinion 512 puts AI supervisory responsibility on managerial lawyers. Effective supervision requires that the people supervised know what the policy says. A countersigned acknowledgment turns the policy into a personal obligation on every user of an approved tool, rather than a document parked on a partner's drive.

Carriers also rely on the acknowledgment when confirming that "the firm has an AI policy" is more than a yes-or-no checkbox on a renewal form. Without acknowledgments, a policy is a draft. With them, it is a governance program.

Who signs and when

  • All attorneys at the Firm, including partners, of-counsel, contract attorneys, and visiting attorneys.
  • All staff with access to firm or client information that may be processed by an AI tool, including paralegals, legal assistants, IT, marketing, and finance.
  • Contractors and vendors with access to firm or client information, where the contractor's engagement does not already include an equivalent contractual obligation.

Signing events:

  • At policy adoption for current attorneys and staff.
  • When onboarding new attorneys and staff, before access to any approved AI tool is provisioned.
  • Whenever the policy is materially revised, including changes to the approved-tools list, Section 6 data classification, or Section 14 exceptions process.
  • Annually, alongside other compliance attestations, even when the policy did not change in the prior year.

The acknowledgment form

The form below is the acknowledgment itself. Print, sign, and file with the user's HR or training file.

EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGMENT, AI USE POLICY

Firm: ____________________________________________

Policy version: __________ Adoption date: ______________

I acknowledge that:

  1. I have read and understand the Firm's AI Use Policy.
  2. Training required under Section 12 of the Policy is complete for the tools I am authorized to use.
  3. The approved-tools list, the tier classification of each tool, and the approved use cases are maintained under Section 3 of the Policy. The [Managing Partner / AI Committee / designated partner] may update them.
  4. No AI tool outside the approved-tools list will be used, and no approved tool will be used outside its approved use case or data tier, without prior written approval under Section 14.
  5. Personal AI accounts, free-tier consumer subscriptions, and AI tools registered to me individually rather than to the Firm are off-limits for any firm or client work, regardless of device.
  6. Before submitting AI-assisted work product for review, I will notify my supervising attorney and identify the tool used, the use case, and the verification status under Section 8.
  7. The verification protocol in Section 8 will be completed before any AI-assisted document is filed with a tribunal, sent to a client, or sent to opposing counsel.
  8. Any suspected AI incident, including inadvertent input of client information into an unapproved tool or submission of an AI-generated misstatement, will be reported within 24 hours under Section 13.
  9. Violations of the Policy may result in discipline up to and including termination. Misconduct involving client confidentiality, candor to a tribunal, or supervisory duty may also trigger reporting under applicable rules of professional conduct.

Signed by:

Signature: ____________________________________________

Print name: ____________________________________________

Title: ____________________________________________

Date: ____________________________

How to file the acknowledgment

  1. File in the personnel or HR record for each signer. The acknowledgment is a personal obligation; it lives with the signer's other employment documents.
  2. Maintain a roster. The Firm keeps a roster of who has signed, the version they signed, and the date. The roster is updated at every policy revision and at every onboarding or departure.
  3. Tie to tool access. Provisioning of credentials for any approved AI tool, especially Tier 1 tools that may receive confidential client information, is conditional on a current signed acknowledgment.
  4. Refresh on revision. When the policy is revised in any material way, including changes to the approved-tools list or to Section 6 data classification, all signers re-acknowledge the current version. Do not treat an old acknowledgment as covering a substantively changed policy.
  5. Renewal-readiness note. Carriers ask whether every attorney and staff member has acknowledged the policy. The answer is the count of current acknowledgments divided by headcount, with documentation. Aim for 100 percent before renewal.

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Other resources

Acknowledgment language mapped to Policy Template and ABA Formal Opinion 512 (July 2024). Last verified 2026-04-29.