Why the ACT Bar Association’s AI Training Partnership Marks a Turning Point for the Legal Profession

The first Australian bar association to formally partner with an AI platform signals that AI literacy is no longer optional—it’s a professional competency.

Last week, headlines across Australia reported sobering news: lawyers in South Australia were sanctioned for submitting fake AI-generated case citations to court. Two Victorian barristers were also implicated, including a KC. These weren’t isolated incidents of carelessness—they exposed a fundamental competency crisis in the legal profession.

This week, the ACT Bar Association announced a response.

AI Legal Assistant has entered an exclusive 18-month educational partnership with the ACT Bar Association, making it the first Australian bar association to formally endorse an AI platform for professional development. This isn’t just about technology adoption. It’s about the profession taking responsibility for ensuring its members have the skills to practise competently in an AI-enabled world.

The Professional Competency Gap

The statistics tell a concerning story. UNESCO’s 2024 survey of judicial operators from 96 countries found that 44% are actively using AI tools in their work, but only 9% have received proper institutional training. Research shows that 31% of legal professionals feel only “somewhat informed” about AI, with another 17% acknowledging a significant knowledge gap.

When nearly half the profession is using AI tools but only one in ten has received training, professional misconduct becomes inevitable—not possible, but inevitable. The recent sanctions weren’t outliers. They were the predictable result of a competency gap left unaddressed.

ACT Bar Council President Prue Bindon put it plainly: “Legal technology is no longer optional—it’s an essential competency for modern practice. Rather than leaving our members to navigate AI adoption alone, we’re providing structured education.”

Furthermore, in the newsworthy case mentioned above, their Honours specifically highlighted that the solicitor involved “did not identify what, if any, training, supervision, or guidance the paralegal had received in relation to the use of AI.” This repeats a theme we are seeing from regulators across the board: where AI tools are used, education is a paramount consideration. 

Why Accuracy Matters More Than Convenience

Not all AI platforms are created equal. Whilst some prioritise speed or features, we’ve built AI Legal Assistant with one non-negotiable priority: accuracy.

Independent testing confirms that we have the lowest hallucination rate in the industry. This isn’t marketing hyperbole—it’s the result of two years of focused engineering by legal practitioners and AI researchers who understand that one fake citation can end a career.

Chief Justice Helen Bowskill has urged the profession that “we cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend that this is not happening; rather we need to embrace it, understand it, and deal with it.” Silk Adrian Duffy KC notes that “Barristers should, if not embrace Gen AI, then at least welcome it in and discern how—consistent with the obligations that a barrister harbours—Gen AI may enhance the way that the barrister is able to deliver services required.”

The judiciary has made it clear: AI literacy is now part of professional competence. But competence doesn’t just mean using AI—it means using AI that’s actually reliable.

The First-Mover Advantage: Why the ACT Bar Moved First

The ACT Bar Association’s decision to partner with us wasn’t made lightly. Multiple jurisdictions have seen lawyers sanctioned for AI-related misconduct, but the ACT Bar chose to be proactive rather than reactive.

This partnership addresses challenges unique to barristers in private practice. Unlike solicitors in larger firms, barristers practise as sole practitioners and often lack dedicated IT support or training budgets. Legal technology consultant Sara Rayment has noted that barristers and solo practitioners struggle to access legal technology because pricing and business models favour large organisations, and unlike law firms, they don’t have a shared pool of resources to invest in transforming their practice.

The 18-month agreement, running from January 2026 through June 2027, establishes a sustainable model for professional education. This isn’t about software sales—it’s about:

• Three dedicated virtual CPD events scheduled over the partnership term
• Quarterly technical newsletters keeping members informed of AI developments
• Hands-on training sessions focusing on practical skills, not theoretical concepts
• Ongoing member support for implementation and troubleshooting

The first CPD event is scheduled for 28 March 2026 at the ACT Bar Conference, with all ACT Bar members receiving quarterly updates through the Association’s existing communication channels.

Education-First: A Model for the Profession

What makes this partnership significant isn’t just that it’s the first of its kind—it’s the approach.

This collaboration focuses on three critical areas that other bar associations can learn from:

1. Verification Protocols

Training barristers to verify AI-generated content before submitting it to court—addressing the exact failure that led to recent sanctions.

2. Privilege Protection

Ensuring AI use doesn’t inadvertently waive privilege or create ethical issues around client confidentiality.

3. Professional Responsibility

Understanding the boundaries of AI assistance whilst maintaining the professional obligations unique to barristers.

As Samuel Junghenn, CEO of AI Legal Assistant, notes: “When a respected professional body provides structured training, it gives barristers confidence to adopt AI responsibly rather than avoiding it altogether or using it without proper guidance.”

The ROI of Proper Training

Here’s something we’ve learnt from working with legal professionals across Australia and New Zealand: clients who undergo regular intensive coaching produce twice as much work as those who’ve only had base training.

That’s not a 10% improvement or a 25% lift. It’s a doubling of output.

They also produce work of a higher quality. 

This isn’t just about avoiding career-damaging mistakes (though that alone justifies the investment). It’s about fundamentally transforming how legal work gets done. Proper training means:

• Understanding which tasks AI handles well and which require human judgement
• Developing workflows that accelerate routine work without compromising quality
• Building confidence to use AI tools in high-stakes matters
• Staying ahead of regulatory and ethical requirements

The barristers who will thrive in the next decade aren’t those who resist AI or those who adopt it uncritically. They’re those who learn to use it strategically, responsibly, and effectively.

Built by Lawyers, For Lawyers

The ACT Bar Association chose AI Legal Assistant for a reason. We’re not a Silicon Valley tech company that decided to enter the legal market. We were founded in January 2023 by legal practitioners and AI researchers who understood the profession’s needs from the inside.

Our Chief Operating Officer, Bec Robertson, is a dual-qualified lawyer with 25 years of experience. She knows what professional competence looks like because she’s practised it. Our platform serves over 250 law firms across Australia and New Zealand, processing more than 1 million legal documents—built on Australian caselaw, designed for Australian regulatory requirements, and tested by Australian practitioners.

This matters. The challenges Australian lawyers face aren’t the same as those in New York or London. Our legal system, our ethical rules, our practice structures are unique. Training that works for Australian lawyers needs to be built by people who understand Australian legal practice.

What This Means for the Profession

The ACT Bar Association’s partnership with AI Legal Assistant represents more than just one bar association’s approach to professional development. It signals where the profession is heading and sets a precedent.

Other bar associations will be watching. Will they wait for more sanctions? Or will they follow the ACT Bar’s lead and provide their members with proactive education?

The question isn’t whether AI will transform legal practice—that’s already happening. The question is whether the profession will take responsibility for ensuring its members can navigate that transformation competently, ethically, and successfully.

The ACT Bar Association has shown it’s possible to do exactly that.

Looking Ahead

As we enter 2026, the legal profession faces a choice. We can treat AI as a technological problem to be solved by IT departments, or we can recognise it as a professional competency issue that requires structured education, clear standards, and institutional support.

The ACT Bar Association has chosen the latter. Their partnership with AI Legal Assistant establishes a model that prioritises accuracy, professional responsibility, and practical skills development.

This is just the beginning. We’ll be sharing updates throughout the partnership term, including insights from CPD events, member feedback, and lessons learnt that other bar associations can apply.

For now, we’re proud to work with an organisation that’s taken professional development seriously enough to be the first mover. The ACT Bar Association has set a standard. Let’s see who follows.

Interested in learning more about our coaching programmes or how AI Legal Assistant ensures accuracy? Contact our team or explore our platform features.

Media Contact:
Bec Robertson
Chief Operating Officer
AI Legal Assistant
[email protected]
+61 480 040 204