Hawaii

pending

Summary

Hawaii has no formal bar ethics opinion on attorney AI use and no binding state court rules requiring AI disclosure. The Hawaii Supreme Court's Committee on AI and the Courts (established April 2024, final report December 2025) recommended adopting an AI disclosure rule mirroring the federal District of Hawaii's General Order 23-1, which has required AI-source disclosure in federal filings since November 2023. Multiple Hawaii attorneys have faced sanctions or grievance complaints for AI-hallucinated citations.

Applicable ABA Model Rules

Rule 1.1
Rule 1.6
Rule 3.3
Rule 5.3

Carrier Implications

Hawaii does not mandate malpractice insurance. Standard LPL policies do not explicitly address AI errors; coverage may turn on whether the carrier treats unsupervised AI use as a "professional service." ALPS and other national carriers writing Hawaii apply general industry positions on AI risk.

This summary is informational only. Verify the primary source before relying on this entry. Bar rules differ meaningfully by state. Consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Hawaii has no formal bar ethics opinion or binding state court AI rule. Chief Justice Recktenwald’s January 2025 letter to HSBA pointed attorneys to existing HRPC and ABA Formal Opinion 512. The Supreme Court’s Committee on AI and the Courts delivered its final report December 16, 2025, concluding existing HRCP Rule 11 is “broad enough” but recommending the Court adopt an AI disclosure rule mirroring federal practice.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii has required AI-source disclosure since General Order 23-1 (November 14, 2023), making Hawaii one of only two federal districts (with Nebraska) with a district-wide requirement. The order requires a “Reliance on Unverified Source” declaration unless all citations are verifiable on Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberg Law. Multiple Hawaii attorneys have faced sanctions or grievance complaints in 2025: Aukai (Maui Circuit, accepted apology), DiPasquale ($100 fine, Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals), and Valencia (sanctions under consideration).

Bottom line for a 5-50 attorney Hawaii firm: No state-level AI disclosure rule exists yet, but the trajectory is toward one. Federal court practice in the District of Hawaii already requires a disclosure declaration for AI-generated filings. The safe position today is to operate as though the federal standard applies statewide.

Last verified: April 23, 2026