Data Privacy & Confidentiality When Using AI in UK Law Firms
A practical, UK-centric approach to lawful, confidential AI use under UK GDPR and professional duties.
Clients trust you with their most sensitive information. Using AI doesn’t change that duty — it raises the standard for controls and documentation. Here’s a practical approach that respects UK GDPR and professional obligations.
A principle-first posture
- Lawfulness, fairness, transparency – be clear about what you’re doing and why.
- Purpose limitation & minimisation – use only what’s needed, for a defined purpose.
- Security & accountability – controls plus records that show your homework.
A workable control set
- Model choice. Prefer private/tenant models for client data; block public chatbots for sensitive content.
- Data handling. Redact where possible; use synthetic or sample data for prompts.
- Vendor due diligence. DPAs, sub-processors, data location, retention and deletion.
- Access controls. Role-based access, logging, and regular review.
- Human review. No autonomous release of client content.
Documentation that pays for itself
- A short AI use policy (scope, approved tools, no-go zones, review steps)
- Risk register entries for each material workflow
- Client wording explaining, in plain English, how you protect their data
OrdoLux helps capture this once and reuse it across matters, reducing admin while improving assurance.
General information for practitioners — not legal advice.
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