Legal Ethics of AI in Pro Bono Practice: What Pro Bono and Public Interest Lawyers Need to Know

Emerging technologies such as generative AI, low-code and no-code platforms, and fully custom AI systems are increasingly shaping how pro bono and public interest legal services are designed, delivered, and scaled. As demand for services continues to outpace available resources, these tools offer meaningful opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, and reach. At the same time, they require thoughtful application of existing professional responsibility rules, including duties of competence, confidentiality, supervision, transparency, and accountability.

This one-hour briefing examines legal ethics through two contrasting but complementary AI use cases that reflect different development approaches and levels of technical complexity. The first use case focuses on an operational AI agent built using low-code and no-code tools to support pro bono program administration, including intake routing, scheduling, volunteer coordination, and internal workflows. The second explores a client-facing asylum support tool developed through full, pro-code engineering and a formal responsible AI lifecycle.

The session highlights how ethical responsibilities scale based on how AI is built, deployed, and integrated into legal services. Across both examples, attorneys play a critical role not only as end users, but as creators, subject-matter experts, user testers, and key influencers in product design and governance. The briefing underscores why lawyer involvement is essential at every stage, from problem definition and system design to testing, oversight, and continuous improvement, particularly in pro bono and access to justice contexts.

Faculty will:

• Frame the ethical landscape for AI in pro bono practice - 15 minutes

• Discuss use case one: Low-code and no-code AI for pro bono operations - 15 minutes

• Discuss use case two: Pro-code AI for asylum application support - 15 minutes

• Engage in a comparative discussion, offer practical takeaways, and closing reflections - 15 minutes