Our Approach. Artificial intelligence has become part of how modern law offices work, and our firm uses it deliberately rather than by accident. We treat AI the way we treat any capable tool: it can make our work for you faster and more thorough, but it assists — and never replaces — the professional judgment of your lawyer. Every use of AI in this office is governed by a written internal policy built on the Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct and current bar ethics guidance on lawyers' use of AI. This page explains, in plain terms, what that means for you and your case.

What We Use It For. We may use approved AI tools for time-saving, behind-the-scenes tasks: organizing and summarizing documents, proofreading and editing, preparing first drafts of routine correspondence, preliminary legal research, and outlining or brainstorming. In every case, the tool produces a starting point. Your lawyer produces the finished work.

What We Never Do. No AI output goes into your documents, your advice, or any court filing until a qualified person has independently reviewed and verified it. Every citation, quotation, and statement of law suggested by an AI tool is confirmed against an authoritative source before it is used, and every factual statement is checked against the actual record. AI is never a substitute for your lawyer's independent judgment, and your lawyer remains fully responsible for the final work product — exactly as if no AI tool had been used.

Your Confidential Information. Our duty of confidentiality does not bend for technology. We use only AI tools the firm has vetted and approved, and information about your representation goes only into secure tools configured so that it is not used to train anyone's AI model and is not accessible to others. We do not put client information into personal or consumer AI accounts, we work from de-identified information whenever we reasonably can, and we honor every court order, engagement term, and client instruction that restricts the use of AI. Where the sensitivity of the information or the nature of a tool calls for your informed consent, we will ask you first.

Your Bills. When AI makes a task faster, the savings are yours. We bill for the actual time spent on your matter, so reduced time means a reduced bill. We do not charge you for time we spend learning to use AI tools, and our AI subscriptions are firm overhead rather than client expenses — unless you specifically ask us to use a particular tool and agree to bear its cost. Any AI-related charge that does appear on your bill will be disclosed to you and reasonable.

Courts and Disclosure. Some courts now require lawyers to disclose or certify their use of AI in filings. We follow those requirements precisely wherever they apply — and, with or without such a rule, everything we file is verified before it is filed.

Your Choices. This is your case. If you would prefer that we not use AI tools in your matter, or if your business has its own guidelines for outside counsel, tell us and we will honor your instructions. If you would like to know more about the tools we use or how this policy applies to your matter, just ask — we are glad to explain. You may contact us at (573) 341-2266, or through our contact page, with any questions.