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Legal AI in Québec and Canada: a guide for lawyers and notaries

Legal artificial intelligence can save hours of research and drafting. Here is what Québec's rules allow, what they require, and how to choose a tool.

Updated · By the Jurisync team

Key points

  • No law prohibits lawyers or notaries from using AI. The duties of competence, professional secrecy and supervision apply in full.
  • According to the Barreau du Québec's guide, entering information protected by professional secrecy into an "open" AI system is a breach, even if nothing is actually disclosed.
  • Law 25 requires a privacy impact assessment (PIA) before adopting such a tool and before disclosing personal information outside Québec.
  • Québec courts require reliable sources and human verification. AI-invented citations have already been sanctioned.
  • The Barreau requires a two-hour training on generative AI, available since April 1, 2026, to be completed before April 1, 2027.

What is legal AI?

Legal AI means tools that use language models for legal work: searching legislation and case law, summarizing a file, building a chronology, preparing a first draft of a deed or letter.

A consumer tool answers everyone, on every topic. A tool built for law cites its sources, flags what remains to be checked and protects the confidentiality of files. The difference matters: you remain responsible for what leaves your firm.

AI prepares; you decide. It replaces neither legal analysis nor professional judgment.

What the professional rules say

In October 2024 the Barreau du Québec published a practical guide to the responsible use of generative AI, updated since. It builds on the Code of ethics of advocates:

  • Competence: lawyers must know the information technologies they use (s. 21). They must understand that AI can invent a plausible answer and treat its output as a starting point.
  • Professional secrecy: all information about the client is confidential (s. 60), and lawyers take reasonable means so that their collaborators protect it (s. 61). See our guide to professional secrecy and AI.
  • Supervision: lawyers remain responsible for the mandate and supervise those who work on it (s. 35), tools included.
  • Fees: bill the time actually spent on the file, not the time the task would have taken without AI (ss. 99, 101 and 102).

The guide recommends obtaining the client's informed consent when AI touches their information; the Barreau's FAQ adds that this is not always necessary and must be assessed case by case. It also recommends keeping a record of prompts and checks.

Since April 1, 2026, the Barreau has offered the mandatory training « Encadrer l'IA générative dans la pratique du droit » (two hours, online), to be completed before April 1, 2027.

Notaries have comparable duties: see our guide for notaries.

Law 25 also applies to AI tools

Québec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, modernized by Law 25, applies to law firms. Three sections bear directly on AI:

  • S. 3.3: a privacy impact assessment (PIA) is required for any project to acquire or develop an information system that processes personal information.
  • S. 17: before personal information is disclosed outside Québec, a PIA and a written agreement are required. A tool hosted in Ontario or in the United States is "outside Québec".
  • S. 18.3: a provider that processes information on your behalf must be bound by a written contract that sets out the protection measures.

Details are in our guide to Law 25 and artificial intelligence, and the steps in our PIA guide.

In court: reliable sources and human verification

The Superior Court (notice of October 24, 2023), the Court of Québec (January 26, 2024) and the Court of Appeal (August 8, 2024) have issued notices on AI. They share three principles: caution, reliable sources and rigorous human verification. They do not require a declaration of AI use.

The Federal Court, since its notice of December 20, 2023, updated May 7, 2024, requires a declaration in the first paragraph of any document containing content generated directly by AI. Québec's Tribunal administratif des marchés financiers has also required a declaration since November 2025.

Invented citations already have consequences in Québec:

The published decisions so far involve self-represented parties. A lawyer's duty to check every source remains complete.

How to choose a legal AI tool

Before adopting a tool, ask the provider:

  • Where are documents processed: on your computer, in Québec, elsewhere in Canada, abroad?
  • Are your files used to train a model? The answer should be no, in writing.
  • Do answers cite their sources, with a link, and say what could not be verified?
  • Are names and numbers detected and masked before anything is sent?
  • Does the contract meet s. 18.3 of the Act: protection measures, use limited to the mandate, destruction at the end?
  • Are there roles, two-step authentication and an activity log?
  • Does the tool cover Québec law, in French, and let you get your data back?

Where Jurisync fits

Jurisync was designed around these rules. In private mode, a local AI analyzes files on the firm's own computer or server: nothing is sent. For public research, detected names and numbers are flagged and a masked version is offered before sending. Those questions are processed by AI providers, some of them in the United States, as our privacy policy states.

Every answer cites its sources and says what remains to be checked. Jurisync helps you meet your obligations; it does not meet them for you.

Frequently asked questions

Can a lawyer use a consumer AI tool?

Yes, for general questions. Information protected by professional secrecy must not be entered: the Barreau's guide treats doing so in an open system as a breach. For personal information, Law 25 also applies, including a PIA if the data leaves Québec.

Should the client be told that AI is used?

The Barreau's guide recommends obtaining the client's informed consent, ideally in writing, when AI touches their information. The Barreau's FAQ adds that this is not always necessary: it is assessed case by case.

Must AI use be declared to the court?

Not before the Court of Appeal, the Superior Court or the Court of Québec, under their current notices. The Federal Court and the Tribunal administratif des marchés financiers require a declaration when a filed document contains AI-generated content.

Can time saved with AI be billed?

No. The Barreau's guide recalls that fees reflect the time actually spent on the file, not the time the task would have taken without AI.

Sources

Official texts consulted for this guide. Always check the version in force.

  1. Barreau du Québec, generative AI practical guide (in French)
  2. Barreau du Québec, mandatory training on generative AI
  3. Code of ethics of advocates, CQLR c B-1, r 3.1
  4. Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, CQLR c P-39.1
  5. Court of Appeal of Québec, notice on the use of artificial intelligence (2024, in French)
  6. Superior Court of Québec, notice on the integrity of court submissions (2023, in French)
  7. Court of Québec, notice to the legal community and the public (2024, in French)
  8. Federal Court, The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Court Proceedings (2024)
  9. Specter Aviation Limited c. Laprade, 2025 QCCS 3521
  10. Droit de la famille — 261234, 2026 QCCA 1092
  11. ARIHQ c. Santé Québec, 2026 QCCS 1360

This guide provides general information. It is not legal advice. Compliance remains each firm's responsibility.