As artificial intelligence becomes a common source of advice and research, US lawyers are increasingly cautioning clients against treating chatbots like trusted confidants, especially in criminal investigations and lawsuits.
The warnings have intensified after a federal judge in New York ruled earlier this year that a former executive could not shield his AI conversations from prosecutors.
The case involved Bradley Heppner, former chair of bankrupt financial services company GWG Holdings and founder of alternative asset firm Beneficient.
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Heppner, who faces securities and wire fraud charges and has pleaded not guilty, had used Anthropic's Claude chatbot to prepare reports related to his case for his lawyers.
His legal team argued that those exchanges should remain protected because they included details linked to his defence strategy. Prosecutors countered that attorney-client privilege does not extend to conversations with chatbots.
Manhattan-based US District Judge Jed Rakoff sided with prosecutors in February, ordering Heppner to turn over 31 Claude-generated documents.
“No attorney-client relationship exists, or could exist, between an AI user and a platform such as Claude,” Rakoff wrote.
The ruling has prompted major US law firms to issue fresh warnings to clients. “We are telling our clients: You should proceed with caution here,” said Alexandria Gutiérrez Swette.
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Several firms have also begun adding AI-related clauses to client agreements. New York-based Sher Tremonte recently warned clients that sharing legal advice with third-party AI tools could waive attorney-client privilege.
At the same time, another US judge in Michigan reached a different conclusion in a separate case, ruling that a woman did not need to disclose her chats with OpenAI's ChatGPT because they were part of her personal work-product.
Still, lawyers say the legal position remains uncertain. Until courts provide more clarity, the advice remains simple: do not discuss your legal case with anyone except your lawyer — including AI.
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