Iowa Lawyers Warn Using AI in Court Could Expose Confidential Info

Recent cases show AI chatbot prompts may not be protected under attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine.

Published on Mar. 11, 2026

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Iowa lawyers are warning that using AI chatbots to get legal advice or information about a court case could allow opposing parties to access confidential trial strategy and other private details. Several recent court rulings have found that communications with AI tools like ChatGPT are not protected under attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine, meaning anything a person asks an AI could potentially be discoverable by the other side in a lawsuit.

Why it matters

As more people turn to AI chatbots for legal guidance, there are growing concerns that this could inadvertently compromise their case if the information shared with the AI is not protected. This raises ethical questions for attorneys about how to advise clients on the risks of using AI in the legal context.

The details

In a recent federal criminal case in New York, a defendant named Bradley Heppner posed questions about his case to the AI platform Claude and saved the exchanges, which federal agents later seized. The court ruled that neither attorney-client privilege nor work product protection applied, since Heppner's attorneys never told him to submit information to Claude, and the AI company's terms allow it to collect data on inputs and outputs. While some judges have interpreted the work product doctrine to protect a pro se litigant's AI communications, legal experts warn this protection is not guaranteed.

  • In February 2026, a federal judge in New York allowed prosecutors to access a defendant's communications with the AI platform Claude.
  • Also in February 2026, a federal judge in Michigan declined to let a litigant demand access to the other party's AI chatbot communications in discovery.

The players

Tyler Coe

A Des Moines-based attorney with the Dentons law firm who recently published an article warning about the risks of using AI in legal cases.

Alexa Perez

A Drake University law professor who wrote an upcoming article about AI usage for Iowa Lawyer Magazine.

Kathleen Law

The president of the Iowa State Bar Association, which has launched a task force to examine the ethical and practical implications of attorneys and the public using AI in the legal system.

Bradley Heppner

A defendant in a recent federal criminal case in New York who posed questions about his case to the AI platform Claude, leading to a court ruling that the communications were not protected.

Jed Rakoff

The U.S. District Judge who ruled in the Heppner case that the defendant's communications with the AI platform were not protected by attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine.

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What they’re saying

“We're so comfortable putting everything into AI, and I think a lot of people are because we just view it as so private. We're just freely giving away this information, and that's what really concerned me.”

— Tyler Coe, Attorney (Des Moines Register)

“Perhaps when the internet first came about, we Googled, 'What should I do if I'm being sued about XYZ?' We're now turning to ChatGPT and AI tools to do those things, and I don't think very many people realize that all of those inputs and outputs, similar to your internet searches, can now be evidence and discoverable in litigation.”

— Alexa Perez, Law Professor (Des Moines Register)

“Certainly (there are) ethical concerns of attorneys using AI and concerns that we need to bring up to our clients to advise our clients properly about their use of AI, which is in this (Heppner) case.”

— Kathleen Law, President, Iowa State Bar Association (Des Moines Register)

What’s next

The Iowa State Bar Association's AI task force plans to produce a report and recommendations later this year on the ethical and practical considerations of using AI in the legal system.

The takeaway

This case highlights the growing risks of using AI chatbots for legal advice or information related to a court case, as anything shared with the AI could potentially be accessed by opposing parties and damage a person's legal position. Lawyers and the public need to be extremely cautious about the confidentiality implications of using AI tools in the legal context.