Indie Law, a Chicago-based trademark law firm serving entrepreneurs, creatives, and growing businesses across the United States, has signed The Higher Bar, a public pledge setting out how lawyers and legal technology companies commit to using artificial intelligence. 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. Among them: 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 the firm cannot verify is real; protecting client data and treating security as ongoing work; using AI to make its team better at their work rather than to replace them; being honest about what AI can and cannot 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.
The announcement matters because it addresses a central tension in legal practice: law firms are adopting AI tools at a time when client confidentiality, evidentiary accuracy, and professional accountability are under close scrutiny. A pledge that requires a human review of every AI output and bars the sale or licensing of client case data speaks directly to the risks clients may weigh when choosing counsel. For the broader legal industry, the move signals that some firms are willing to make their AI practices public and subject to reputational accountability, even where no formal rule requires it.
"Our clients trust us with the name their business is built on," said Joey Vitale, trademark attorney and founder of Indie Law. "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. It creates no legal obligation and changes no rule of professional conduct. The full pledge and the list of signers are on Best Era's website.
Indie Law notes that it focuses exclusively on trademark law, helping clients protect their brands through federal trademark registration, comprehensive searches, and ongoing brand monitoring. The firm says it has filed more than 2,000 trademarks with a 99.7% success rate. More information about the firm is available at www.indielaw.com.
For clients and prospective clients, the practical implication is a stated commitment that a lawyer, not a tool, remains accountable for the work and that client information stays protected. For other firms weighing similar tools, the pledge offers a template of fourteen concrete commitments that can be adopted without any change to existing rules of professional conduct.
