California has officially entered a new era of artificial intelligence regulation. Governor Newsom has signed Senate Bill 574 (SB 574) into law—a “first-in-the-nation” measure establishing clear statutory boundaries for how attorneys and arbitrators operating in California use generative AI tools in their professional practice.

As a practical matter, effective as of January 1, 2027, SB 574 creates several core obligations for attorneys. Among them: (1) a duty not to enter confidential, personal identifying, or other nonpublic information into a generative AI system unless access to that system is restricted to the attorney and authorized persons bound to protect its confidentiality; (2) a duty to take reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of AI-generated output, including all case and statutory citations, and to correct any “hallucinated” results; and (3) a duty to disclose the use of generative AI to the court for documents submitted.

If you are an attorney or arbitrator navigating the evolving landscape of legal technology, here is what you need to know about the new requirements.