Why a checklist, not a policy template
Generic AI-use policy templates circulating in the market tend to be either too permissive (a single paragraph on "use responsibly") or too restrictive to survive contact with actual practice-group workflows. CLPS's advisory approach starts from tool-by-tool risk mapping rather than a blanket policy.
The five steps we recommend
- Inventory: catalogue every AI tool already in informal use across practice groups, not just sanctioned ones.
- Risk-tier: classify tools by data sensitivity and decision-impact (drafting support vs. client-facing analysis).
- Vet: assess vendor data-handling terms, model training opt-outs, and confidentiality safeguards.
- Pilot: run a bounded pilot with one practice group before firm-wide rollout, with defined success criteria.
- Govern: establish an ongoing review cadence, not a one-time policy sign-off.
Key takeaway
Firms that skip the inventory step consistently underestimate the number of AI tools already touching client data.