Confidentiality
Client and firm information entered into tools you don’t control, under terms nobody reviewed.
GovernanceLift™
AI governance your clients will recognize — ready in 30 days, proven in 90.
A complete, industry-tailored AI governance program for law firms, accounting firms, private equity firms, and family offices. Approved by your leadership, known to your people, and aligned to NIST AI RMF and ISO/IEC 42001.
Why it matters
Your people already use AI. Your obligations already apply.
Most firms have AI in use long before they have rules for it — through free tools, personal accounts, and features switched on inside software they already own. Governance closes that gap without slowing the work down.
Accuracy
Fluent, confident output that is sometimes wrong — and sometimes relied on before anyone checks.
Trust
Clients, regulators, LPs, and insurers are asking how you govern AI. The answer needs evidence.
What’s inside
A program, not a template pack
Four tiers that auditors and sophisticated clients recognize — from leadership commitment down to the records that prove the program operates.
Tier 1
Charter
AI Governance CharterRisk appetiteCommittee & accountability
Approved byLeadership
Tier 2
Policies
Acceptable UseData ProtectionTool LifecycleHuman OversightRisk ManagementIncident ResponseResponsible AIAgentic AI
Approved byCommittee, ratified by leadership
Tier 3
Standards
Data classificationPrompt governanceTool intakeReview checklistsTrainingCommittee rhythm
Owned byAI Governance Lead
Tier 4
Registers
AI system inventoryRisk register & heat mapVendor scorecardGovernance calendarIncident & exception logLive dashboard
MaintainedContinuously
Built for your industry
Same architecture. Your obligations.
Each edition leads with the risk your leadership already worries about, and cites the professional and regulatory rules you actually answer to.
Privilege, confidentiality, and candor
One unverified citation in a filing, or one matter uploaded to a consumer chatbot, can become a sanctions order or a privilege fight. The law firm edition builds verification and confidentiality into everyday practice.
Anchored in ABA Model Rules 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 3.3, 5.1 and 5.3 · ABA Formal Opinion 512 · court AI rules such as New York’s Part 161
- Verification standard for every authority and fact that reaches a court
- Ethical walls and matter-level security enforced in AI search
- Billing rules for AI-assisted work and a model engagement-letter clause
- Matter-opening AI checklist, including outside counsel guideline restrictions
- Agent limits for e-filing, docketing, and client trust accounts
Tax data, independence, and audit quality
Tax return information is protected by criminal law, independence can be impaired by where client data lives, and audit evidence must stand up to inspection. The accounting edition puts a gate in front of all three.
Anchored in IRC §7216 · Treasury Circular 230 · AICPA confidentiality, independence and hosting rules · SQMS No. 1 and PCAOB QC 1000 · FTC Safeguards Rule
- A §7216 gate before tax return information enters any AI tool, including offshore processing
- Audit evidence and documentation standards for AI-assisted procedures
- Independence and hosting safeguards for attest client data
- Tax research and return verification checklists
- AI governance connected to your system of quality management
MNPI, LP trust, and marketing accuracy
Deal data, investor information, and performance claims all carry regulatory weight. The private equity edition keeps AI inside your information barriers and your marketing substantiated.
Anchored in the Investment Advisers Act anti-fraud provisions, Marketing Rule, Books and Records, and Compliance Program rules · §204A MNPI policies · Regulation S-P · your LPAs, side letters, and NDAs
- NDA check before any data-room content reaches an AI tool
- Marketing Rule and “AI washing” controls for pitch books and DDQs
- Books-and-records capture of AI-drafted communications and notetakers
- A model DDQ response on your AI governance
- Portfolio AI oversight, including a 100-day baseline for new acquisitions
Privacy, security, and impersonation
For a family office, the most sensitive information is often where people are — and the biggest AI threat is someone convincingly pretending to be a principal. The family office edition protects both.
Anchored in fiduciary duties under trust law · state privacy, biometric, and staff-monitoring laws · the SEC family office rule, and adviser rules for multi-family offices
- A security-sensitive information class for locations, travel, and routines
- Payment call-back verification against deepfake instructions
- Guidelines for household staff, assistants, and family members
- An AI questionnaire for your law firms, CPAs, and banks
- Trustee judgment preserved in every fiduciary decision
How it works
Ready in 30. Live in 60. Proven in 90.
A structured 90-day method with three clear milestones. We move fast on the work we control, and give your counsel, leadership, and people the time they need. Your AI Governance Lead works alongside our team, so the program is yours from day one.
Weeks 1–2
Discover
Leadership interviews, an inventory of every AI tool in use, an anonymous shadow-AI survey, and a maturity assessment.
Weeks 3–4
Tailor
Documents fitted to your firm and industry, registers populated with real data, and a package ready for your counsel and leadership.
Day 30 · Ready
Weeks 5–8
Adopt & launch
Leadership approves the Charter and policies, your Committee meets, and your people are trained with tools and channels live.
Day 60 · Live
Weeks 9–13
Prove
We support your team through its first operating cycle and run your first quarterly review together, with a report for leadership.
Day 90 · Proven
By day 90 you can tell any client, regulator, LP, or insurer: we have an AI governance program, it is aligned to recognized standards, leadership approved it, our people are trained, and here is the evidence that it works.
Ways to engage
Choose the level of support
Every option includes the full kit and your industry edition. The difference is how much of the work we do with you.
Essentials
For firms with an internal owner ready to lead
- Full kit and one industry edition
- 90-minute adoption workshop
- Tailoring worksheet and self-guided method
- Training materials
Professional
Implemented with you in 90 days
- Everything in Essentials
- Discovery, inventory, and maturity assessment
- Documents tailored and registers populated
- Leadership adoption session and Committee setup
- Staff training and launch, then your first quarterly review together
Managed Governance
Keeps your program current, every quarter
- Quarterly regulatory and professional updates
- Control health checks and Committee facilitation
- New-tool reviews and register upkeep
- Change notices when rules or tools change
- Annual refresher training and Charter review
Defensible by design
Aligned to the standards others will ask about
Anchored on recognized frameworks and professional duties, which hold steady while AI legislation keeps changing.
NIST AI RMF 1.0
Every policy maps to the Govern, Map, Measure, and Manage functions of the U.S. reference framework for AI risk.
ISO/IEC 42001
Charter, policies, and registers follow the AI management system standard — a path to certification if your clients require it.
Your professional rules
Each industry edition cites the ethics rules, regulations, and contracts that govern your work.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is this legal advice?
No. GovernanceLift™ gives you a complete, well-researched starting point. We package the documents for review by your own counsel before adoption, and flag in each industry edition exactly what they should confirm.
We’re a small firm. Is this too much for us?
The program is written for firms without a dedicated compliance department. Smaller firms can combine Committee seats and adopt in stages, starting with the Charter and the AI Acceptable Use Policy.
Who runs the program after you leave?
Your AI Governance Lead — typically your COO, CIO, general counsel, or CCO — supported by the Committee. They work alongside us throughout the 90 days, run the first quarterly review with us, and the registers and governance calendar tell them exactly what is due and when.
Does it cover AI agents, not just chat tools?
Yes. A dedicated Agentic AI policy sets autonomy levels, actions that always need human approval, protection against manipulation, and a kill switch, with industry-specific limits such as e-filing, tax submissions, wires, and trust accounts.
What happens when the rules change?
Managed Governance clients receive quarterly regulatory updates and change notices, and we update the affected documents. Every document carries a review cadence so nothing goes stale.
Get started
Start with a governance assessment
In one conversation we’ll map where AI is already in use at your firm and what it would take to govern it well.