The Eastern District of Texas Announces Planned Amendment to AI-Related Local Rule

By Marsha Cotton, Conor G. Bateman, and Adam E. Lang

For most, the final months of each year bring changing weather, football playoffs, and spiced lattes. For attorneys, this time also brings a wave of procedural rule changes that set the tone for litigation ahead of the upcoming year. This year, courts around the country are grappling with how to address the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence technology (commonly known as “AI technology”) use in the everyday practice of law. For example, this summer the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules approved a proposed new rule of evidence, Federal Rule of Evidence 707, which would subject AI-generated evidence to the Daubert standard for reliability. See Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, Agenda Book, at Appendix B, page 75 (June 10, 2025). Many courts at the circuit and district court levels have also considered adopting AI-related procedural rules as well; last year the Fifth Circuit considered, but ultimately rejected, a proposed rule governing litigants’ use of AI technology.

Most recently, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (EDTX) announced its intent to amend its AI-related local rule. On October 31, 2025, Chief Judge Mazzant issued General Order 25-07, which revised, among other things, the court’s Local Rule CV-11(g). Prior to that Order, CV-11(g) only addressed AI usage by pro se litigants and required pro se litigants to verify the accuracy of any computer-generated content used to help prepare a filing to ensure the content complied with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11.

Recognizing that now even licensed attorneys are relying on AI technology in their day-to-day practice, the revised CV-11(g) will require “all litigants,” not just pro se litigants, to review and verify the accuracy and quality of information produced by AI technology that is used in a filing. In doing so, the court recognized that it “has seen an increasing number of filings that improperly utilized generative artificial intelligence by failing to review and verify the factual and legal accuracy of all content generated by such tools.” The court further recognized that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, and other professional ethical rules, continue to apply to all litigants no matter how a filing is prepared, and the misuse of AI technology remains a sanctionable activity. The revised rule is set to take effect on December 1, 2025, after a public notice and comment period. At least one other federal district court in Texas has recently adopted a similar rule that requires the attorneys filing a brief to certify the use of generative AI technology on the first page of the brief. See N.D. Tex. Loc. Civ. R. 7.2(f) (effective Sept. 2, 2025); see also N.D. Tex. Loc. Crim. R. 47.2(e) (effective Sept. 3, 2024).

EDTX’s forthcoming rule change is a timely reminder that while attorneys gain access to more technology and tools to help make the practice of law more efficient, they must maintain competence in knowing both the benefits and risks of legal-related technology. See Tex. Disciplinary R. Pro. Conduct 1.01, Comment 8. This includes remaining diligent and sharp-eyed in reviewing AI-generated information for accuracy to maintain compliance with all Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, particularly Rule 11.