The Redacted Document Method: Using Public AI Tools Without Exposing Client Information

If your practice is going to use public AI tools for any work that touches client files, the redacted document method is the baseline minimum for managing the privacy risk.

It is not a perfect solution. There are situations where it does not apply and situations where it still creates exposure. But for a practice that wants to use general AI tools to accelerate work without establishing an enterprise agreement, this is the practical approach.

What the Method Is

Before providing any document to a public AI tool, remove all information that could identify the specific client or matter. This means names, case numbers, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, immigration record numbers, employer information, family member names, and any other identifying detail specific to that person or case.

What remains is the structural content of the document: the argument, the question, the type of evidence, the procedural context. That is what you provide to the AI. That is what the AI works with.

How to Do It

Create a working copy of the document. Do not redact your original files.

On the working copy, replace identifying information with placeholders. "Client A" for the client name. "[Date]" or a fictional date for specific dates if they are irrelevant to the question you are asking. "[Employer name]" for the employer. This way the structure of the document is intact and the AI can still understand the context of what you are asking, but the specific identity is absent.

Review the document before submitting it. It is common to miss a name in a header, a case number in a footer, or a specific location reference in a paragraph. A second pass takes two minutes and is worth doing.

What to Do With the Output

The AI output will use your placeholders. When you incorporate it into the actual document, you restore the real information. This is the step where errors get introduced, because you are transferring content between versions manually.

Build a brief review step into the workflow specifically for this. After incorporating the AI-generated content into the actual document, read the section with the real client information in place. Confirm that the context still holds and that no placeholder was accidentally carried over.

What This Method Does Not Solve

It does not solve every privacy concern. If the structural details of the matter are themselves identifying, because the situation is unusual or the jurisdiction is small, removing the name may not be sufficient.

It does not apply to real-time AI tools that are processing live information or integrating with case management systems. That is a different category with different requirements.

It also does not apply to voice interactions. If you are using any AI tool that captures audio, the redacted document method has no equivalent. Those tools require different controls.

The Honest Assessment

This method lets you use general AI tools responsibly for tasks where the structure of the work is what matters and the client identity is not material to the question you are asking. It is a discipline, not a guarantee. Treat it as the floor, not the ceiling.