AI counsel
Advises on the law that applies when an organisation builds, buys or uses AI.
Or does one of these fit you better?
What does an AI counsel do?
An AI counsel is the lawyer an organisation turns to when AI touches the law: the contracts for AI tools, the rules on how staff may use AI, the regulation that applies to what the organisation builds or buys, and the advice when something goes wrong.
The role exists in-house at companies that build or use AI, and in law firms as a practice that advises them. It combines the skills of a commercial lawyer with enough understanding of the technology to know which questions to ask.
How do you become an AI counsel?
- Qualify as a lawyerA law degree and admission are the entry ticket. Commercial, technology or data protection practice is the usual route in.
- Get certifiedThe AISL covers AI in legal practice, the AIGP the governance of AI. Together they cover what clients ask.
- Take on AI matters nowReview the next AI vendor contract, draft the firm's AI use policy, follow the EU AI Act for your clients.
- Land the roleAI counsel, technology counsel or product counsel, in-house or in a firm's technology practice.
Which certifications does an AI counsel need, and in which order?
- 1AISL v0.1AI in legal practice: how legal AI works, how to deploy and oversee it, and the duties that come with it.Within the month at three hours a day.
- 2AIGPAI governance: the laws, the frameworks and how to govern an AI system from design to retirement.About five weeks at three hours a day. The material is new to almost everyone.
Already hold the AIGP? Start with the AISL.
The AISL covers AI in legal work itself: how the tools fail, how to oversee them and the professional duties that apply. The AIGP adds the governance of AI across an organisation, which is what clients and the business ask an AI counsel about.
What skills does an AI counsel need?
Enough to understand how a model is trained, where it fails and what a vendor can and cannot promise.
The EU AI Act, data protection, intellectual property and the professional duties of lawyers who use AI.
Vendor terms, data use, liability and audit rights, and the clauses that protect the client when the model changes.
Turning a regulation into advice a product team can act on this week.
The GDPR does not ask for a certificate. Employers do.
Start AISL v0.1 freeWhere does an AI counsel work?
Companies that build AI products, where counsel sits next to product and engineering.
Banks, insurers, healthcare and the public sector, where the questions are about buying and deploying.
Technology and AI practices that advise several clients at once.
What does an AI counsel earn?
Pay depends on the country, the sector, your experience and whether the role is in-house or external. The ranges below come from published salary guides; verify them against the market you are in.
Sources: Allen Institute for AI, legal counsel posting, Seattle, 2026; Legal.io, corporate counsel with AI expertise, 2024; Morgan McKinley salary guide 2026, legal counsel with 5+ years, London.
Questions about the AI counsel role
Do I need to be a lawyer?
For this role, yes. AI counsel gives legal advice, and that takes a qualified lawyer. If you work in legal services without being a lawyer, legal operations and legal engineering are the AI roles built for you.
Do I need a technical background?
No. You need to understand what a model does, where it goes wrong and what a vendor can promise, not how to build one. The AISL teaches exactly that, in legal terms.
Which first, the AISL or the AIGP?
The AISL, if you are a lawyer who uses AI or advises on it. It is available now and the IAPP exam opens in January 2027. The AIGP adds the governance of AI across an organisation.
Is there enough work in it?
Every AI tool an organisation buys comes with a contract, every use needs a policy, and the EU AI Act reaches anyone who builds or deploys AI in Europe. The work is growing faster than the number of lawyers who can do it.
Your path starts with the AISL v0.1
Your first lesson is free. No card.