Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
November 14, 2026
Indie Law Signs The Higher Bar Pledge for Responsible AI Use
TLDR
- Indie Law's Higher Bar pledge positions it as a trustworthy AI adopter, giving it an edge with clients who prioritize responsible legal innovation.
- Indie Law commits to 14 principles, including human review of all AI outputs and never training AI on client data, with lawyers accountable.
- Indie Law's pledge ensures AI enhances legal service while protecting client data and maintaining human accountability, building a fairer future.
- Indie Law signed a voluntary pledge called The Higher Bar, promising never to sell client data or file unverified AI evidence.
Impact - Why it Matters
As AI tools become increasingly integrated into legal practice, clients face growing uncertainty about how their sensitive information is handled and whether human judgment remains central to their representation. Indie Law's public commitment to The Higher Bar signals that ethical AI use is not just a theoretical concern but a practical, client-facing priority. For entrepreneurs and business owners, this pledge offers reassurance that their brand assets and confidential data will not be used to train third-party AI systems or handled without lawyer oversight. It also sets a voluntary standard that could influence how other law firms and legal tech companies approach AI, potentially raising expectations across the profession. In an era where AI can generate filings and evidence with alarming ease, commitments like this help preserve trust in the legal system and protect clients from the risks of unverified or unethical AI outputs.
Summary
Indie Law, a Chicago-based trademark law firm serving entrepreneurs, creatives, and growing businesses nationwide, has signed The Higher Bar, a public pledge governing the use of artificial intelligence by lawyers and legal technology companies. The pledge was convened by Best Era, a law firm consulting company based in West Hartford, Connecticut. By signing, Indie Law commits to fourteen principles that emphasize human oversight, client data protection, and ethical AI use. Key commitments include using AI to serve clients, courts, and communities with a lawyer responsible for every use; having a person check every AI output before it leaves the firm; never using AI to harass, intimidate, or bury anyone in filings; never filing evidence it can't verify is real; protecting client data and treating security as ongoing work; using AI to make its team better at their work, not to replace them; being honest about what AI can and can't do while keeping its own voice in everything it sends; and never selling or licensing client files or case data to train anyone's AI.
Joey Vitale, trademark attorney and founder of Indie Law, explained the firm's motivation: "Our clients trust us with the name their business is built on. Signing The Higher Bar is a public way of saying that no matter what tools we use, a lawyer is responsible for the work and our clients' information stays protected." The Higher Bar is voluntary and creates no legal obligation or change to professional conduct rules. The full pledge and list of signers are available on Best Era's website. Indie Law, which has filed over 2,000 trademarks with a 99.7% success rate, focuses exclusively on trademark law, helping clients protect their brands through federal trademark registration, comprehensive searches, and ongoing brand monitoring. Learn more at www.indielaw.com.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content distributed by 24-7 Press Release. Read the original source here, Indie Law Signs The Higher Bar Pledge for Responsible AI Use
