N.D. Cal.: Civil Standing Order Section H: Use of Generative AI Tools (Cases Assigned to…
Judge Eumi K. Lee · U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Verified April 27, 2026
- Citation
- Civil Standing Order Section H: Use of Generative AI Tools (Cases Assigned to Judge Lee)
- Order date
- August 28, 2025
Summary
Use of ChatGPT or other generative AI is not prohibited, but counsel must personally confirm the accuracy of any research conducted by these means.
What does the order require?
- Use of ChatGPT or other generative AI is not prohibited, but counsel must personally confirm the accuracy of any research conducted by these means.
- Any submission containing AI-generated content must include a certification that lead trial counsel has personally verified the content's accuracy.
- Failure to include this certification or comply with the verification requirement is grounds for sanctions.
- Counsel is responsible for maintaining records of all prompts or inquiries submitted to any generative AI tools.
Practice areas: federal civil
What the order requires
Judge Eumi K. Lee’s civil standing order, Section H (effective August 28, 2025), imposes the same verify-and-certify framework adopted by several N.D. Cal. judges (notably Martínez-Olguín). AI use is permitted; the obligations are personal verification by lead trial counsel, an in-document certification, and prompt recordkeeping.
The prompt-retention requirement matters operationally: firms using consumer AI products without prompt-logging infrastructure cannot satisfy it. Cases before Judge Lee should use AI tooling that captures prompts at the point of use and stores them with the matter file.
Primary source
Standing order: https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/standing-orders/EKL-CivilStandingOrder-8-28-2025.pdf