AI Rules for North Carolina Law Firms
Last verified July 8, 2026
North Carolina has no single AI statute governing lawyers, but your firm's exposure already runs through a 2024 State Bar ethics opinion, a local court order in Cabarrus County requiring disclosure of AI-altered evidence, and a pending omnibus bill that would reach firms using AI in their own hiring. This page lays out what is adopted, what is local and effective, and what is still moving through Raleigh.
Where North Carolina Stands
No statewide North Carolina AI bill has been enacted as of this writing. House Bill 1161, an omnibus Artificial Intelligence Protections bill pending in the 2025-2026 session, includes bias-audit and disclosure duties for automated employment decision tools, which would reach your firm if you use AI screening in your own hiring. It is not yet law but signals where state regulation is heading. Separately, the North Carolina State Bar has already spoken through its 2024 Formal Ethics Opinion 1 on AI use in a law practice.
What Your Firm Must Do
Under 2024 Formal Ethics Opinion 1, your firm may use AI only if the lawyer using it understands the tool's capabilities and limits, protects client confidentiality (putting client data into free public AI tools is disfavored), and reviews and verifies all output before relying on it. Responsibility for AI-assisted work product stays with the lawyer and cannot be delegated to the tool. If your firm litigates in Cabarrus County Superior Court, Revised Administrative Order 25-09 additionally requires disclosing AI-generated or AI-altered evidence to opposing parties, generally 90 days before trial; AI-drafted pleadings and advocacy do not require disclosure under that order. This is currently the only North Carolina district with such an order, so check local rules district by district before assuming it applies statewide.
What's Still Pending
HB 1161 remains pending in the General Assembly and has not been enacted. If it passes, its bias-audit and disclosure duties for automated employment decision tools would apply to any firm using AI-based hiring or screening tools, independent of how the firm uses AI in client-facing legal work.
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