How Is This Bill Enforced
Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.
(1) No person shall engage in the practice of law or do law business, as defined in section 484.010, or both, unless he shall have been duly licensed therefor and while his license therefor is in full force and effect, nor shall any association, partnership, limited liability company or corporation, except a professional corporation organized pursuant to the provisions of chapter 356, a limited liability company organized and registered pursuant to the provisions of chapter 347, or a limited liability partnership organized or registered pursuant to the provisions of chapter 358, engage in the practice of the law or do law business as defined in section 484.010, or both.
Subsection 1 is the preexisting prohibition on the unauthorized practice of law in Missouri. It requires a valid license for any person to engage in the practice of law or do law business, and bars associations, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations from doing so except through authorized professional entities. This subsection is carried forward without amendment and creates no new AI-related obligation.
(2) 1 Unless duly licensed in this state to practice law or law business, it shall be an unauthorized practice of law subject to injunctive relief and liability under subsection 3 of this section for any person, association, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation to provide, regardless of whether compensation is paid, papers, pleadings, or documents to be used in connection with proceedings pending or prospective before any court of record, commissioner, referee or any body, board, committee, or commission constituted by law or having authority to settle controversies that are produced or generated by the use of artificial intelligenceartificial intelligenceAs used in this subsection, the term "artificial intelligence" means a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.§ 484.020(2). As used in this subsection, the term "artificial intelligenceartificial intelligenceAs used in this subsection, the term "artificial intelligence" means a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.§ 484.020(2)" means a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.
This is the bill's core new provision. It establishes that any unlicensed person, association, partnership, LLC, or corporation that provides papers, pleadings, or documents for use in legal proceedings — where those documents were produced or generated by artificial intelligence — commits the unauthorized practice of law, regardless of whether compensation is paid. The provision covers documents for proceedings before any court of record, commissioner, referee, or any body, board, committee, or commission constituted by law or having authority to settle controversies.
The definition of artificial intelligence tracks the widely used OECD-style formulation: a machine-based system that can make predictions, recommendations, or decisions for human-defined objectives. The prohibition is notable for its breadth — it applies to any unlicensed user of AI for legal document generation, not just to AI developers or platforms.
(3) Any person, association, partnership, limited liability company or corporation who shall violate the foregoing prohibition of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction therefor shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars and costs of prosecution and shall be subject to be sued for treble the amount which shall have been paid him or it for any service rendered in violation hereof by the person, firm, association, partnership, limited liability company or corporation paying the same within two years from the date the same shall have been paid and if within said time such person, firm, association, partnership, limited liability company or corporation shall neglect and fail to sue for or recover such treble amount, then the state of Missouri shall have the right to and shall sue for such treble amount and recover the same and upon the recovery thereof such treble amount shall be paid into the treasury of the state of Missouri.
Subsection 3 establishes the penalty framework for violations of the preceding subsections: criminal misdemeanor liability with a fine not exceeding $100 plus costs of prosecution, and civil liability for treble the amount paid for any service rendered in violation. The private treble-damages action must be brought within two years; if the paying party fails to sue within that window, the State of Missouri has standing to recover the treble amount for the state treasury.
(4) It is hereby made the duty of the attorney general of the state of Missouri or the prosecuting attorney of any county or city in which service of process may be had upon the person, firm, association, partnership, limited liability company or corporation liable hereunder, to institute all suits necessary for the recovery by the state of Missouri of such amounts in the name and on behalf of the state.
Subsection 4 (renumbered from the existing subsection 3) imposes a duty on the Missouri Attorney General and county or city prosecuting attorneys to institute all suits necessary to recover treble-damages amounts owed to the state under this section. This is an enforcement-mechanism provision that creates no new AI-specific compliance obligation.