AI Disclosure — Trial Commander
Effective Date: September 1, 2026 (table of AI features updated 17 September 2026, 29 September 2026, 7 October 2026 and 9 October 2026; other AI providers, § 1.1, added 27 September 2026 and updated 29 September 2026 and 9 October 2026)
This document describes how Trial Commander uses artificial intelligence (AI) and what this means for your obligations as a Florida attorney.
1. What AI Features Are Included
Trial Commander uses Anthropic's Claude API for these features:
| Feature | What It Does | Data Sent to AI |
|---|---|---|
| Atticus AI | General Q&A about your case | Case context you select |
| Fee Petition Drafting | Generates Rowe lodestar petition | Time entries, case info, your factor analysis |
| Closing Statement | Generates Rule 4-1.5(f)(5) closing statement | Contingent fee calculation data |
| Legal Research | Searches case law with context | Your research query, relevant case background |
| Discovery Responses | Drafts initial responses to discovery requests | Discovery request text, matter facts |
| Cross-Examination Prep | Generates cross-examination outlines | Witness statements, case theory |
| Crucible impeachment triage | Flags deposition testimony that does not line up with the matter's record — live as new answers are captured, or when you run a full scan; each flag names the record it rests on and is shown to the attorney to review | The deponent's name; the session's transcript lines (for live triage, the new answers and the few lines before them; for a full scan, all of them); and entries from the matter's record — key facts, timeline, exhibits, discovery, witnesses, experts, prior depositions and motions — up to a set length (and, once search by meaning is connected, the most relevant passages of the matter's indexed documents). Not sent for a matter set to keep all AI features on the attorney's computer |
| Document Generator | Creates motions, pleadings | Matter facts, legal arguments |
| Ask Trial Commander | Answers a question about using the product, and about your firm's own records, and shows its sources | Your question, passages from the product manuals, and records from the matters you may already open |
| Support replies (Trial Commander staff) | Drafts a reply to a support question from Trial Commander's own help material, only when our staff choose "Draft with AI"; a person at Trial Commander reads, edits and sends every reply | The support question and passages from Trial Commander's own help material; never sent for a firm that requires zero-retention AI |
| Drafting in the Word add-in | Drafts a document from the Drafting Studio into the open document | The matter context you select, your instruction |
| Selection tools in the Word add-in | Explains, simplifies, tightens or rewrites the text you selected | The selected text, the matter it belongs to |
| Cite-check in the Word add-in | Checks the citations in the text you selected | The selected text |
| Reply drafting in the Outlook add-in | Drafts a reply to the open email from the matter | The email you are reading, matter context |
| Firm drafting skills | Derives a reusable drafting skill from the firm's own model documents | The documents the firm submits, and an attorney's approval before use |
| Chronicle time narratives | Drafts a billing narrative for a captured time block, when you ask | The block's times and duration, your notes, the matter number and name, and the titles of the block's sources — including a calendar event's title when you imported the block from a connected Google or Outlook calendar — with Social Security, card and long account numbers masked |
1.1 Other AI Providers
Two features use a provider other than Anthropic, and each runs only once it is set up on the Service (search by meaning, which is not yet connected, is covered below):
| Feature | Provider | Data Sent |
|---|---|---|
| Voice-memo transcription (only once set up on the Service) | OpenAI (model whisper-1) | When set up: the recorded audio of the memo; the transcript comes back |
| Deposition transcription in Crucible (from the effective date of our notice of this change, and only once set up on the Service; never on a matter set to keep all AI features on the attorney's computer) | Microsoft Azure AI Speech | The recorded deposition audio, with the deponent's and the matter's names as recognition hints; the transcript comes back. The audio is not stored by us |
- OpenAI. Until transcription is set up on the Service, voice memos can be recorded but are not transcribed, and nothing is sent to OpenAI; the voice-memo page says whether it is. OpenAI's published API data controls (read 27 September 2026) state that API data is not used to train its models unless the customer opts in — we have not — and list the transcription endpoint with no abuse-monitoring retention and no application-state retention.
- Search by meaning is not yet connected. Search in Trial Commander matches words: the firm-wide search and the Brief Bank find the words you type, and similar-matter matching compares matter fields. No text is sent to an outside provider to be searched by meaning.
- Microsoft Azure AI Speech. Until deposition transcription on our servers is set up, Crucible's Record button uses your browser's speech service (below) or typed entry, and no deposition audio is sent to Microsoft for transcription. Microsoft's published documentation ("Data, privacy, and security for Speech to text", read 9 October 2026) states that for fast transcription, the kind we use, Microsoft does not retain or store the data provided by customers.
- Dictation uses your browser's speech service, not ours. Dictation in Crucible (when no transcription on our servers is set up), matter notes, time-entry narratives, the Ask Trial Commander and Atticus boxes and the staff intake description fields uses the speech-recognition service built into your web browser. Where your browser can transcribe on your own computer, Trial Commander uses that mode and the audio stays on the device. Otherwise your browser may send the audio to its vendor (for example Google, Microsoft or Apple) to transcribe it, under your own agreement with that vendor and not under ours; Trial Commander receives only the text, never the audio, and says so before dictation starts. See Privacy Policy § 4.2.
OpenAI has not signed a Business Associate Agreement with us. Legal Research and citation check use CourtListener (Free Law Project), which is a case-law database, not an AI service. Legal Research sends the words you type into its search to CourtListener; citation check sends only the citation strings, never your draft. The full list is on the Sub-processors page.
AI features are always optional. You can use Trial Commander without using AI features. Attorneys can disable AI features for their firm.
2. How Your Data Is Protected
2.1 Data Retention with Anthropic
Trial Commander sends AI requests to Anthropic's commercial API. Under Anthropic's commercial terms:
- ✅ Your data is used to generate the AI response
- ✅ Anthropic does NOT use your data to train models — in any retention mode
- ✅ Data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and during processing
Retention mode. Trial Commander operates in one of two modes, and the active mode is always reflected in the application (Settings → AI monthly limits → Data retention):
- Zero Data Retention (ZDR): once Anthropic activates ZDR on our account, Anthropic retains nothing after the response is generated. We have requested this configuration and will operate under it as soon as Anthropic confirms activation.
- Standard retention (current default until ZDR is active): Anthropic may retain API inputs and outputs for a limited operational period (approximately 30 days) for abuse and safety monitoring, after which they are deleted. They are not used for training and are not accessible for any other purpose.
Firm choices. A firm that requires zero retention before using cloud AI may (a) enable "Require zero retention" in Settings, which pauses the firm's cloud AI until ZDR is active; (b) connect the firm's own Anthropic API key, in which case requests run under the firm's own agreement with Anthropic; or (c) use per-matter local AI, which never sends matter content off the firm's machine.
2.2 In-Product Protections
- AI responses are not shared between firms (each firm's data is isolated)
- AI-processed data is logged to the audit trail (what was sent, when, to whom) but the AI response content itself is not retained beyond your session unless you save it to a matter
- You control what data is sent — the system sends only what's needed for the specific feature
3. Your Ethical Obligations
Using AI does not change your ethical duties as a Florida attorney. Under Florida Bar rules:
3.1 Competence — Rule 4-1.1
You must provide "competent representation." The Florida Bar's November 2023 opinion 24-1 clarifies that:
- You must understand what AI can and cannot do
- You must supervise AI output as you would a junior associate's work
- You must verify citations, quotes, and legal conclusions in AI output before filing or relying on them
- You must not outsource your judgment to AI
3.2 Confidentiality — Rule 4-1.6
Under Rule 4-1.6(e):
- You must take reasonable precautions against unauthorized disclosure of client information
- Using cloud services (including AI) requires informing clients or including cloud use in your engagement letter
- Trial Commander's safeguards (no training on your data, limited or zero retention, encryption) are reasonable precautions, but you remain responsible for disclosing AI use to clients
3.3 Supervision — Rule 4-5.3
AI is a "nonlawyer assistant" under Rule 4-5.3:
- You are responsible for AI output as if produced by a nonlawyer under your supervision
- You cannot delegate attorney judgment to AI
- You must review and adopt AI output as your own work product before filing it
3.4 Candor to Tribunal — Rule 4-3.3
You must not make false statements of law or fact. This includes:
- Not filing AI-generated citations without verification (AI can "hallucinate" citations)
- Not representing AI output as your own independent legal analysis without review
- Disclosing AI use where court rules require it (check your specific court)
3.5 Fees — Rule 4-1.5
You may charge for time reviewing and editing AI output, but:
- You may not charge for the AI's own "work"
- You must be transparent with clients about AI use affecting efficiency
4. Suggested Client Disclosure Language
Consider adding to your fee agreement or engagement letter:
"The Firm may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including Trial Commander's integrations with Anthropic's Claude and, where the Firm uses voice-memo transcription, OpenAI, to assist with legal research, document drafting, and case analysis. Client information may be sent to these AI services under commercial terms that prohibit the AI provider from training on or disclosing client data and strictly limit any retention. All AI output is reviewed and supervised by an attorney before use. Client consents to this use of AI."
This is a template suggestion. Have counsel review it for your practice.
5. What NOT to Send to AI
As a precaution, avoid sending to AI features:
- Social Security numbers (no valid use case)
- Credit card numbers or bank account numbers
- Medical records containing detailed patient identifiers (use redacted versions)
- Trade secrets or privileged information of third parties (non-clients)
- Content that is subject to protective orders
Trial Commander's AI features don't need this data and you should redact before pasting.
6. What the AI CANNOT Do
AI features:
- Cannot file documents on your behalf
- Cannot electronically sign pleadings
- Cannot give legal advice to your clients (only to you, and subject to your review)
- Cannot access other firms' data or other clients' matters
- Cannot access the internet in real-time (except where we explicitly enable it for legal research)
- Cannot remember conversations between sessions (unless we save them to your matter)
7. Malpractice Risk
AI output can contain errors including:
- Hallucinated citations — AI can invent case names, citations, or quote text that doesn't exist. Always verify in Westlaw, Lexis, or free sources.
- Outdated law — AI training data has a cutoff date and may not reflect recent cases or rule changes
- Jurisdiction errors — AI may cite non-Florida law when Florida law applies
- Procedural errors — AI may not know your specific court's local rules
You are responsible for catching these errors before filing. Attorneys have been sanctioned for filing AI-generated briefs with fake citations. See Mata v. Avianca, Inc., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107536 (S.D.N.Y. 2023).
8. Verification Checklist
Before filing or sending any AI-generated content:
- I have read the full output
- I have verified every case citation by pulling the actual case
- I have verified quotations are accurate
- I have confirmed cited statutes and rules still exist in their cited form
- The output applies Florida law (not another state's law unless appropriate)
- The output complies with my specific court's local rules and formatting requirements
- I have added my own legal judgment, not just adopted the AI's conclusions
- I have disclosed AI use to my client where appropriate
- I have redacted any info that shouldn't have been in the prompt
9. Opting Out
You can disable AI features for your firm at any time:
- Firm Admins: Settings → AI Features → Disable
- Effect: Immediate; no existing AI-generated content is deleted, but no new data is sent to AI
10. Updates to This Disclosure
As AI technology and Florida Bar guidance evolve, we may update this disclosure. Material changes require 30 days' notice. The current version is always at https://www.trialcommander.com/ai-disclosure.
11. Questions
- General: support@trialcommander.com
- AI-specific: ai@trialcommander.com
- Privacy/security: privacy@trialcommander.com
Florida attorneys remain responsible for compliance with Florida Bar rules and court orders regarding AI disclosure in their specific matters.