UPL Boundary Spectrum: Safe Tasks vs. Legal Advice
Not all work is equal. Use the spectrum below as a training tool and a quick escalation guide.
How to use the spectrum
- Identify where the task falls (administrative → analytical → advisory).
- If it touches advice, strategy, or applying law to facts, escalate.
- If it is safe, still apply: confidentiality safeguards + verification as appropriate.
Examples
| Spectrum Level | Common AI-Assisted Task | Typical Output | UPL / Legal Advice Risk | Category | Who Approves | Card Score (0–10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative | Spellcheck, grammar, formatting of attorney-written text | Cleaned-up document | Low | Safe Task | Attorney / paralegal (policy-based) | 0 |
| Administrative | Convert file types (PDF ↔ Word), OCR, extract text | Converted / extracted text | Low | Safe Task | Legal ops / IT / paralegal | 0 |
| Administrative | Summarize a document without interpretation | Neutral summary | Low–Medium | Safe Task | Paralegal; attorney for sensitive matters | 0–1 |
| Administrative | Create TOC, citation list, exhibit list | Lists / indexes | Low | Safe Task | Paralegal | 0 |
| Administrative | Draft non-substantive client comms (scheduling, status updates) | Email draft | Low | Safe Task | Paralegal; attorney if it states legal position | 0–2 |
| Administrative | Build timelines from provided facts/records (no conclusions) | Chronology | Low–Medium | Safe Task | Paralegal; attorney if used in filings | 0–2 |
| Administrative | Generate internal workflow checklists | Process checklist | Low | Safe Task | Practice group lead / legal ops | 0 |
| Analytical | Identify key terms/definitions in a contract (highlighting only) | Highlight list | Medium | Safe Task (guardrails) | Attorney | 1–2 |
| Analytical | Compare two documents for differences | Redline / delta list | Medium | Safe Task (guardrails) | Attorney or senior paralegal under attorney | 1–3 |
| Analytical | Classify documents (privilege indicators, topic tagging) | Tags / flags | Medium–High | Safe Task (supervision) | Attorney (privilege); eDiscovery manager (workflow) | 3–5 |
| Analytical | Retrieve and summarize legal sources (research aide) | Research memo draft | Medium–High | Safe Task (supervision) | Attorney | 3–5 |
| Analytical | Draft clause alternatives as options (no recommendation) | Option set | Medium–High | Borderline | Attorney | 3–6 |
| Analytical | Spot issues/risks in a contract and list generally | Issue list | High | Borderline → Legal Advice | Attorney | 4–7 |
| Advisory | Recommend which clause to choose based on goals/risk tolerance | Recommendation | High | Legal Advice | Attorney | 6–8 |
| Advisory | Apply law to a person’s facts (e.g., “Do I have a claim?”) | Case evaluation | Very High | Legal Advice | Attorney | 7–10 |
| Advisory | Draft customized filing-ready legal documents without lawyer review | Filing-ready doc | Very High | Legal Advice / UPL risk | Attorney required; often partner review | 8–10 |
| Advisory | Predict outcomes / settlement value / litigation strategy | Strategy guidance | Very High | Legal Advice | Attorney (often partner) | 8–10 |
| Advisory | Tell a user what they should do legally / whether conduct is lawful | Directive guidance | Very High | Legal Advice | Attorney | 8–10 |
| Advisory | Attorney-client comms giving legal conclusions | Legal conclusions | Very High | Legal Advice | Attorney | 8–10 |
Pro Tip: When in doubt ESCALATE. The cost of a mistake is far greater than the cost of escalation.