AI Governance Readiness Checklist for Law Firms & High-Risk Data Teams

10 questions to ask before AI use scales faster than your controls

AI governance doesn't start with a perfect policy. It starts with clear ownership, approved use cases, and practical rules people can follow. Use this checklist to identify where your organization is ready—and where risk is building.

The Checklist

  1. Tool inventory visibility — Do you know which AI tools are actively in use—formally approved or not? A governance gap starts here. Shadow AI in client-facing or sensitive workflows is the most common risk entry point.
  2. Approved, restricted, and prohibited use cases — Have you defined what AI can and cannot be used for? A clear tiered use-case classification gives people practical guidance and reduces informal workarounds.
  3. Decision flow for new tools and use cases — Is there a clear process for evaluating and approving new AI tools or use cases? Without a decision flow, approvals happen informally or not at all.
  4. Data handling rules — Do your AI policies address what data can be entered into, processed by, or output from AI tools? Client data, personally identifiable information, and privileged information all require explicit handling rules.
  5. Training and enablement — Have people been trained on your AI policies, use-case limits, and data handling requirements? A policy no one has read is not governance.
  6. Human review standards — Is there a standard for when AI output must be reviewed by a human before use? High-stakes outputs require human review standards.
  7. Vendor and tool evaluation process — Do you have a process for evaluating AI vendors on data handling, security, and compliance before adoption? Vendor evaluation is a risk management step, not just procurement.
  8. ROI and leading metrics — Have you defined what success looks like for AI investments, and how you will measure it? Licensing does not equal value.
  9. Documented and reviewable decisions — Are AI governance decisions, approvals, and exceptions documented and reviewable? Defensible AI adoption requires a paper trail.
  10. 90-day plan with owners and timeline — Do you have an active governance improvement plan with named owners and a timeline? A risk assessment without a next step is not an action plan.

How to read your results

  • 0–3 yes: Early stage / high urgency. Significant gaps across tool visibility, policy, and training. A structured diagnostic and 90-day action plan are the recommended starting point.
  • 4–7 yes: Progress underway. Foundations are forming but execution gaps remain. Targeted support can accelerate progress and close the remaining gaps.
  • 8–10 yes: Mature baseline. Strong governance foundations in place. Focus should shift to ongoing monitoring, vendor reassessment, and measuring adoption quality.

Ready to close the gaps?

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