What happened
As California's 2025-2026 legislative session heads toward its August 31, 2026 close, SB 574 remains active — a bill that would amend the California Business and Professions Code to impose generative-AI guardrails on attorneys and arbitrators, including a hard prohibition (not merely a supervision requirement) on delegating 'the practice of law' to generative AI, plus verification and confidentiality duties responding to hallucinated-citation incidents in court filings. Legal commentators flag substantial ambiguity in what 'delegate' and 'practice of law' mean for AI-assisted drafting, research, and client communication.
Why it matters
If enacted, this would be one of the most restrictive state-level constraints on professional use of generative AI in a major regulated industry (legal services), with unclear boundaries that could chill routine AI-assisted legal work across California's large legal market, and could serve as a template other states adopt for professional-services AI restrictions.
Action needed
Legal-tech vendors and law firms operating in California should monitor SB 574's final language before the August 31, 2026 session close and prepare compliance guidance on generative-AI use if it is signed.