SRA-aligned AI policy template for UK law firms
A free, editable Word document your firm can adopt as the starting point for a written AI usage policy, personalised with your firm name and review dates, mapped to the SRA Code of Conduct, and built around a citation-verification clause that reflects the duties in Ayinde [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin).
Last reviewed: 12 June 2026
What's inside
- Scope, purpose and the firm's AI governance roles
- Permitted and prohibited uses of AI tools in legal work
- Confidentiality and UK GDPR handling of client data
- A citation-verification clause aligned with Ayinde [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin)
- Mandatory human review and accountability for every AI output
- Training, incident reporting and a dated annual-review trigger
Mapped to the SRA Code of Conduct
Each section of the template references the professional obligations the SRA expects firms to meet. This is a drafting aid. It does not certify compliance.
| Obligation | Reference |
|---|---|
| Acting with integrity & honesty to the court | SRA Principles; Code for Solicitors 1.4 |
| Competence and standard of service | Code for Solicitors 3.2–3.6 |
| Confidentiality of client information | Code for Solicitors 6.3 |
| Supervision and managerial responsibility | Code for Firms 2.1; Code for Solicitors 7.1 |
| Co-operation and transparency with the SRA | Code for Solicitors 7.3–7.4 |
| Client information and publicity | Code for Solicitors 8.6; SRA Transparency Rules |
How firms use it
Download the Word file, adapt the bracketed fields and any clauses to your firm's circumstances, have it reviewed and approved by a qualified solicitor or your COLP, and record an annual review date. The template reflects the law and SRA guidance as at the last-reviewed date above; firms are responsible for keeping their adopted policy current.
This template is not legal advice. Writford is a software company, not a law firm, and is not regulated by the SRA. This document is a starting point that must be reviewed, adapted and approved by a qualified solicitor before use. It is non-exhaustive and stated as at 12 June 2026. Solicitors remain responsible and accountable for their own compliance and for any output produced using AI.
Get the free template
We'll email you an editable Word copy, personalised with your firm details.
Prefer to read first? Read the full guide.
Does a UK law firm need a written AI policy?
If anyone in the firm uses AI on client work, yes. The SRA expects a firm to supervise the tools its people use, and a written policy records what is permitted, what is forbidden, and who verifies the output before anyone relies on it.
- Does my law firm need a written AI policy?
- If anyone in the firm uses AI on client work, yes. The SRA expects firms to supervise the tools their people use, and a written policy is how a firm shows what it permits, what it forbids and who checks the output.
- What should a law firm AI policy cover?
- Which tools are approved, what may and may not be put into them, that client confidentiality still applies, that a solicitor verifies every citation and every figure before relying on it, who is accountable, and when AI use is disclosed to a client.
- Why is citation verification the important clause?
- Because courts have dealt with cases where AI-invented authorities were cited to them. A policy that requires the person signing the work to open and check each authority is the clause that prevents the failure that has actually happened.
- Is this template SRA-approved?
- No. It is a drafting aid mapped to the duties in the SRA Code of Conduct, written to be adapted by the firm. No template certifies compliance, and adopting one unchanged is not supervision.
- Can we use it as it is?
- It is personalised with your firm name and review dates and can be adopted as a starting point, but a policy should describe what your firm actually does. Review it, change what does not fit, and set a date to look at it again.
- Do we have to tell clients we use AI?
- It depends on the work and what you have told them in your client care letter. The template addresses disclosure so the firm makes that decision deliberately rather than by omission.