W.D. Tex.: Standing Order Concerning the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Preparatio…

What the order requires

Judge Gonzalez’s Del Rio Division order, signed and filed June 25, 2026, takes a certificate requirement that already applied to counsel in his criminal cases and extends it “to parties appearing before the Court in all cases, including civil cases.” The requirement it extends, Section 11(a) of his Standing Order in Criminal Cases, reads:

“If counsel utilizes generative artificial intelligence to draft or assist in drafting a pleading, counsel must include with the pleading a ‘Certificate of Generative Artificial Intelligence Usage,’ an example of which is appended to this Standing Order as Appendix C. The certificate must disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence and certify that counsel has independently verified the accuracy of any portion of the document drafted or assisted by the tool. Counsel must further certify that the use of generative artificial intelligence has not resulted in the disclosure of confidential or privileged information to an unauthorized party.”

The model certificate

Appendix A supplies the form:

“This document was generated with the assistance of [Name of Program], a generative artificial intelligence tool. I hereby certify that I have independently verified the accuracy of the legal and factual assertions contained in this document. I further certify that the use of generative artificial intelligence has not resulted in the disclosure of any confidential or privileged information to any unauthorized party.”

The confidentiality certification

Most chambers AI rules stop at accuracy. This one adds a second attestation: that using the tool did not disclose confidential or privileged information “to an unauthorized party.” For a firm, that turns a data-handling question (which tools see client material, and on what terms) into a statement made to the court on each pleading drafted, or drafted with assistance, by generative AI. Judge Crone’s Standing Order MC-11 in the Eastern District of Texas uses materially the same three-part certificate.

Consequences

The order grounds sanctions in the court’s inherent authority, Rule 11, the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, and Local Rule AT-7. Sanctions “may include fines, non-monetary directives such as completing education programs, reporting to disciplinary boards, and other appropriate measures,” and AI use “will not excuse or absolve ethical indiscretions.”

Primary source

Standing Order Concerning the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Preparation of Filings (June 25, 2026) (PDF)