Governance and access

Governance for AI-assisted legal work is not about writing a giant policy document. It is about making the team safe to work quickly under normal time pressure — knowing what needs review, who approves what, and where to find the output later.

Decisions to make before broad rollout#

• Who can create matters and who should only contribute within existing ones.
• Which document types may be uploaded — and whether any require special handling (litigation-privileged material, client confidential files, regulated data).
• Which outputs can be shared internally without additional approval.
• How the team distinguishes exploratory AI output from final approved work product.
• Who provides legal review before any output leaves the firm.

Access model#

Output review standards#

Set clear rules for what level of human review is required before different types of AI output are used:

Document handling rules#

• Do not upload documents that are subject to third-party confidentiality restrictions unless your firm has confirmed that 8rney usage is within the scope of that agreement.
• Treat the Library as internal infrastructure — apply the same care you would to any shared internal document system.
• SLP and review outputs are work product. Mark them clearly as drafts until they have been reviewed and approved.

AI transparency rules#

• Research answers are not legal advice. Make this clear to any internal stakeholder who receives an 8rney research output.
• Playbook benchmark reports are AI analysis. They flag deviations against your firm's standards — they do not replace lawyer judgment about commercial risk.
• Drafts generated by 8rney are starting points, not finished work. The lawyer who submits or signs off on the final document owns it, regardless of how it was produced.