Effective soonS6953-B/A6453-B (2025); chapter amendment S8828/A9449 (2026)New York

New York RAISE Act (Responsible AI Safety and Education Act) for Legal Services

How New York RAISE Act (Responsible AI Safety and Education Act) applies to legal services organizations and the obligations to plan for.

Effective

January 1, 2027

Max penalty

$3.0M

Applies to

developer

Why this law matters for legal services

Law firms, legal-tech vendors, and in-house legal teams using AI for document review, drafting, research, or client-facing decisions.

This law applies to legal organizations to the extent their AI use falls within the law's scope (see the obligations below). Organizations operating in New York should treat this law as part of the baseline regulatory obligations alongside any sector-specific federal rules.

Key obligations

governance→ developerN.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 1421(1)–(2)
Large frontier developers must write, implement, comply with, and publish a frontier AI framework for managing catastrophic risk, review it at least annually, and publish material modifications with a justification within 30 days.
Deadline: From January 1, 2027
transparency→ developerN.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 1421(3)
Before or when deploying a new or substantially modified frontier model, publish a transparency report; large frontier developers include summaries of catastrophic-risk assessments, their results, and third-party evaluator involvement.
Deadline: Before deployment
documentation→ developerN.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 1422(3)
Report a critical safety incident to the Department of Financial Services office within 72 hours, and within 24 hours to an appropriate law-enforcement or public-safety authority when there is an imminent risk of death or serious physical injury.
Deadline: Within statutory timeframe
documentation→ developerN.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 1422(2)
Large frontier developers must transmit to the office a summary of any assessment of catastrophic risk from internal use of their frontier models every three months or on another agreed schedule.
Deadline: From January 1, 2027
governance→ developerN.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 1428
Large frontier developers must file a disclosure statement with the office before developing, deploying, or operating a frontier model in New York, renew it every two years or on an ownership or material change, and pay a pro rata assessment.
Deadline: From January 1, 2027

Recommended next steps

Inventory AI systems used in legal services workflows that may fall within New York RAISE Act (Responsible AI Safety and Education Act)'s scope.
Map each system against the obligations above and identify the responsible role (developer vs deployer).
Adopt a structured framework — see NIST AI RMF and ISO/IEC 42001 — to demonstrate due care and produce audit-ready evidence.
Document obligations satisfied and gaps in a single register, refreshed at the cadence required by the law (typically annual).

Frequently asked questions

Does New York RAISE Act (Responsible AI Safety and Education Act) apply to legal services organizations?

This law applies to legal organizations to the extent their AI use falls within the law's scope (see the obligations below). The law should be read with the source-derived obligations listed on this page and any sector-specific federal rules that apply to legal services workflows.

When does New York RAISE Act (Responsible AI Safety and Education Act) take effect for legal services use cases?

New York RAISE Act (Responsible AI Safety and Education Act) is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.

Who carries the compliance duty for New York RAISE Act (Responsible AI Safety and Education Act) in legal services?

New York RAISE Act (Responsible AI Safety and Education Act) lists developer as the role coverage for New York. The actual duty depends on whether the organization develops, deploys, procures, or uses the covered AI system in the law's scope.

What penalty exposure should legal services teams track?

New York RAISE Act (Responsible AI Safety and Education Act) lists a maximum penalty of $3.0M in the Atlas record. Penalty exposure depends on the source section, violation type, and factual context.

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