CAI-LAW-F · Fundamentals grade · Practice
Certified AI in Legal — Fundamentals
For legal professionals who use AI in research, drafting, review and disclosure work — and verify the output before their name goes on it.
Credential name under legal review — the final name may differ.
2 hours examination · remote, proctored · valid 2 years
US$695
First membership year included
§ 1 — Intended candidates
Who this certification is for
AI is now inside the daily work of legal professionals. This credential certifies what an employer actually needs to know: that this person can use AI in legal work effectively and responsibly — verifying before relying, protecting what is privileged, and staying accountable for work AI helped produce. It is not an assurance credential: it does not certify the ability to assess or audit an AI system.
- Prerequisites
- No formal prerequisites. Recommended: working experience in a legal role or legal operations function.
This is the Fundamentals grade of the AI in Legal family — Professional and Fellow follow it.
§ 2 — Examination domains
What the examination covers
The examination is mapped to AI in legal practice: research, drafting, review and e-discovery, verification of AI output, and the confidentiality, privilege and accountability duties that attach to it. Weightings are indicative until each syllabus is published.
- 01
AI-assisted research, drafting, review and e-discovery30%
Where AI earns its place in legal work — and the failure modes of each use, from fabricated authority to missed privilege.
- 02
Verifying the reliability of AI output25%
What checking means before reliance: sources, citations, and the difference between plausible text and verified law.
- 03
Confidentiality, privilege and disclosure25%
What may be put into a tool, on what terms, and what the duties of confidence and privilege require of the professional using it.
- 04
Human accountability for AI-assisted work20%
The work carries the professional’s name, not the tool’s: supervision, sign-off, and candour about how work was produced.
Curriculum mapping indicates alignment of learning content with published frameworks. It does not constitute endorsement by, or certification under, any standards organisation or regulator.
§ 3 — Preparation
What preparation is anchored to
Candidates prepare independently against the published materials.
The Council certifies individuals — it sells no preparation of any kind, and how a candidate prepared is never visible to an assessor. How impartiality is protected.
§ 4 — Assessment
How candidates are assessed
Examination centred on legal-work scenarios in which AI has produced part of the work product — the candidate judges what to rely on, what to verify, and what may not go into a tool at all, and accounts for the decision.
Every script is marked twice — an AI assessor first and provisional, an independent human assessor second and final. The credential carries a unique identifier any employer can check on the public register.
§ 5 — Questions
Questions about this certification
What does the examination cost?
US$695, with the first year of membership included. Nothing is payable until you register for a sitting.
When can I sit the examination?
Registration is open now through the candidate portal; examination sittings run from the October 2026 window and are scheduled at booking.
Scheme-wide questions are answered on the FAQ and in the candidate handbook.
§ 6 — Register
Register for this examination
Create a candidate account and register now; sittings are scheduled from the October 2026 examination window and the examination fee is US$695, with the first year of membership included. Members pay a reduced rate on every examination.
Register — candidate portalThe Council is pursuing ISO/IEC 17024 accreditation; no accreditation is claimed until it is held. Accreditation status.