Many employers and employees are increasingly using AI as a sounding board before seeking legal advice. On the surface, it seems like a good idea: it’s quick, it’s informal, it’s cheap and it feels private.
However, chats with AI tools do not benefit from legal privilege. If someone asks their preferred AI tool, ‘How do I dismiss this troublesome employee?’; ‘What’s the best way to manage someone out?’ or ‘Is there a way of making this dismissal look like a redundancy?’, these conversations could be disclosable in litigation and ultimately end up in the bundle before the Employment Tribunal. That could be rather uncomfortable when it is read by the judge.
Additionally, according to B P Collins’ employment team, it is increasingly clear from case law that putting privileged legal advice into AI for a second opinion may waive legal professional privilege in that advice. In other words, if legal advice received from a lawyer is fed into an AI tool for further analysis, the protection that privilege provides may be lost. Once that privilege has been waived, it cannot be restored.
This protection is particularly important during litigation because it means communications between a lawyer and their client remain confidential from the Employment Tribunal and from the other side.
Many of us are tech savvy these days and it’s only natural that we turn to AI for advice and information. However, always remain cautious and:
- Assume anything said to an AI tool might be read by someone else.
- Don’t put anything into an AI tool that you would not be comfortable seeing in writing later.
- If advice is needed on a difficult workplace issue, ask a lawyer – not a chatbot.
AI can be a useful tool, but it is not a substitute for legal advice and it does not provide the same protections that come with a lawyer-client relationship.
If you’re concerned about your AI usage during a legal matter, please get in touch with B P Collins’ employment team at enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk or call 01753 889995 to see how they can help.
