Short answer: California's State Bar guidance says a lawyer 'must not input any confidential information of the client into a generative AI solution that may present material risks to confidentiality or security, absent informed client consent.' It ties this to Business and Professions Code § 6068(e) as well as Rule 1.6.
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None of these opinions addresses licensing records to an AI training buyer directly. They address lawyers putting client information into generative AI tools. Their reasoning about tools that store inputs or train on them is the closest published guidance, so we summarize what each says and what it implies.
What the guidance says
The State Bar's 2026 Practical Guidance replaces its November 2023 version. It notes that generative AI products 'often utilize the information that is input by the user, including prompts and uploaded documents or resources, to further train or refine the AI' and says, as a general matter, 'a lawyer must not input any confidential information of the client into a generative AI solution that may present material risks to confidentiality or security, absent informed client consent' (State Bar of California).
What's different in California
The guidance cites Business and Professions Code § 6068(e), California's statutory duty to maintain client confidences, alongside Rule 1.6 and Rule 1.8.2. It also addresses agentic AI with access to firm email, messaging, document management and client files, which is close to what a data license would expose.
What it implies for licensing
A license exists to give a buyer records to train on. Under this guidance, anything confidential would need informed client consent, so a California firm's realistic scope is firm-owned material with no client information.
Program rules still apply
Mode lists minimum team sizes of 10+ employees for legal, 15+ for accounting, medical and finance, and 50+ for all other businesses, for companies based in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia with several years of records they own (Mode). micro1 asks for 30+ employees, mostly English data, and says it is prioritizing US companies (micro1).
This is general information, not legal advice. Talk to your own attorney or compliance advisor before you share or license any records.
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Frequently asked questions
Does California have a rule specifically about selling firm data to AI?
Not that we found. The published guidance addresses lawyers' use of AI tools; we apply its reasoning.
Is client consent the answer?
Consent can permit disclosure, but it must be informed. Ethics counsel should decide whether consent is practical for your clients.
What about ABA guidance?
ABA Formal Opinion 512 (July 2024) covers lawyers' use of generative AI tools under the Model Rules.
Sources
- State Bar of California, Practical Guidance for the Use of Generative AI in the Practice of Law (2026)calbar.ca.gov
- ABA Formal Opinion 512 on generative AI tools (July 2024)americanbar.org
- ABA Model Rule 1.6, Confidentiality of Informationamericanbar.org
- Mode / BizBuyData referral pagebizbuydata.com
- micro1 company referral pagemicro1.ai
Referral-fee disclosure: we may be paid by a program if your company signs with it after using this site. General information only, not legal advice.
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