New Jersey

informal

Summary

New Jersey has the most active state Supreme Court AI governance program in the country, with three Supreme Court documents since January 2024: Preliminary Guidelines (Jan 2024), a mandatory 1-credit technology CLE requirement (April 2025), and a Notice on Responsible Use of AI with starter policy template (March 2026). There is no formal numbered ACPE opinion and no mandatory AI disclosure requirement for court filings.

Applicable ABA Model Rules

Rule 1.1
Rule 1.2
Rule 1.4
Rule 1.5
Rule 1.6
Rule 3.1
Rule 3.3
Rule 3.4
Rule 4.1
Rule 5.1
Rule 5.2
Rule 5.3
Rule 7.2
Rule 8.4

Carrier Implications

The March 2026 Notice's vendor diligence requirements create a documented due-diligence standard carriers will likely adopt as a coverage condition. Failure to complete the mandatory technology CLE could be cited in disciplinary or malpractice proceedings as evidence of inadequate competence.

This summary is informational only. Verify the primary source before relying on this entry. Bar rules differ meaningfully by state. Consult a licensed attorney in your state.

New Jersey has issued three Supreme Court-level AI documents since January 2024 without issuing a formal ACPE opinion. The January 2024 Preliminary Guidelines establish lawyer responsibility for verification, security diligence on AI tools before entering client information, and supervision over subordinates. The April 2025 Notice imposes a mandatory 1-credit technology CLE requirement per two-year reporting cycle but the Court declined to add an explicit technology competence comment to RPC 1.1, making NJ an outlier. The March 2026 Notice provides a Supreme Court-endorsed starter AI use policy template specifying citation verification against an official source, vendor settings review, and structured choices for client information handling.

The May 2024 NJSBA Task Force Report found existing RPCs sufficient and recommended written AI policies, vendor data flow documentation, human review of AI outputs, and consumer-tier tool restrictions. There is no mandatory AI disclosure requirement in NJ court filings.

Bottom line for a 5-50 attorney New Jersey firm: The March 2026 Notice and its starter template are the de facto compliance baseline. The Supreme Court’s “not a safe harbor” warning is explicit: a written policy without implementation, training, and verification offers no protection.

Last verified: April 23, 2026