Artificial intelligence and practitioners, more rules to protect the legal profession

A new deontology governing artificial intelligence to guarantee a future for the legal profession. The demand for soft law rules, easily applicable because they are shared, comes from the youngest, from practising lawyers. The reason is simple: precisely because they are early adopters and digital natives, they are more aware of the potential and risks of Ai within the profession. They do not adopt a Luddite attitude, on the contrary, they make use of the new tools, but consider it fundamental, as a protection first of their professionalism and then of the client, to have both guidelines to follow in daily practice and information that allows equal access to the advantages offered by the use of artificial intelligence.

It is this fact, together with the increase in the use of Ai inlaw firms, that emerged most forcefully during the debate that took place yesterday at Palazzo di Giustizia, on the occasion of the presentation of the survey carried out by the Milan Bar Association, in collaboration with 'Il Sole 24 Ore', as part of the 'Talk to the future' event.

In a context in which Ai becomes a commodity and no longer just a competitive lever, a fundamental role is played by those who dictate the boundaries within which the profession takes new shape. "The professional associations play an important and reference role in the establishment of shared rules: it is in fact sharing that makes them applicable," comments Antonino La Lumia, president of the Milan Bar Association. Carlo Gagliardi, lawyer at the Milan Bar, is of the same opinion: 'The order must harness artificial intelligence to assure all professionals, especially the younger ones, that the legal profession will continue to have a future, albeit reshaped by the changes taking place. For this to happen we also need more training for practitioners already at university in non-legal subjects, such as technology, marketing, communication and client management'.

The fear of the substitution, on the other hand, is very clear to those who are now starting their legal career. "Practitioners are aware of the risks to which they are exposed, which is why, as the Italian Association of Young Lawyers, we are convinced that training must already take place at university, because there must be equal access to the use of Ai," emphasises Veronica Consolo, coordinator of Aiga's Ai Department. "It is right for the profession to be stimulated by competition, but there must be equality of arms at the base."

The wealth of data collected over the three years in which the survey was conducted each year highlights the speed of lawyers' reaction to the speed of technology development: in 2024, the approach was cautious and curious; in 2025, it is realised that one has to come to terms with Ai; in 2026, an infrastructure begins to take shape. "Ai is a lever of efficiency and productivity because it speeds up the preparatory phase, such as legal research and the writing of the first draft, freeing up time for strategy and confrontation with the client," explains Valentina Masi, councillor of the Bar and president of Asla. "The four points to pay attention to today are: firm policy; contracts with suppliers; control culture; training." Human control is also among the three pillars through which deontology must become more concrete, says Giuseppe Vaciago, coordinator of the Order's Ai e Giustizia table and vice-president of Asla. "The others are transparency and confidentiality. The guidelines also serve the legal profession to make the correct investments in tools and to be certain, at the same time, of compliance".