North Carolina | Ropes & Gray LLP

Court - Judge Name	Effective Date	Applicable To	Categories	Summary
Cabarrus County Superior Court – Judge McGee	7/23/2024	Generative AI	Generative AI Usage	Judge McGee’s administrative order defines GenAI as a type of AI which can “create new content such as text, images, or audio, based on training data.” It also defines a “deepfake” as “synthetic media where AI creates fake images, videos, and audio recordings.” Based on these definitions, the order guides the use of GenAI in three delineated circumstances. First, the order implores attorneys to understand GenAI and its proper uses, but permits litigants to use GenAI tools “for legal research, drafting documents, and assisting in the discovery process,” provided they do so in a manner “consistent with the Rules of Civil Procedure and [the litigant’s] professional responsibilities.” Such use cases do not require disclosure. Second, the order expressly permits litigants to use GenAI to “assist in the discovery process”—in a manner “consistent with Rule 26(g) of the [FRCP]”—although the order reminds counsel of their obligation to “protect confidential information” because some information submitted to an AI tool “may not be held confidentially.” Third, the order requires pre-trial disclosure when GenAI is used in the creation of evidence, as well as pre-trial challenges when a party suspects that “evidence may be a deepfake.” Violations of the order include those permitted under “Rule 11 and Rule 28 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct and the Court’s inherent authority,” which include penalties up to and including dismissal.
			Requires Disclosure and/or Verification
			Suggests Cautious Use of AI
			Applies to AI Used for Filings/Drafting
W.D.N.C. – Judge Reidinger, Judge Whitney, Judge Cogburn Jr., Judge Bell, Judge Conrad Jr., Judge Mullen, and Judge Voorhees	6/18/2024	Any AI	Any AI Usage	The Western District of North Carolina’s standing order broadly prohibits any use of “artificial intelligence” in conducting research for the preparation of court filings, except that the order explicitly allows AI that is “embedded in the standard on-line legal research sources Westlaw, Lexus, FastCase, and Bloomberg.” The order also requires certification that every statement and citation to an authority contained in any court filing has been verified for accuracy. The order is not specific to Gen AI, and the exceptions to the AI prohibition only appear to apply to the four named legal research tools and none others.
			Prohibits Use of AI
			Applies to AI Used for Research