AI Governance & Risk Assessment
Build AI systems that regulators and partners can trust — legal frameworks that document accountability, manage liability, and survive due diligence.
Do You Actually Need This?
AI governance is not optional for every company — these four signals mean yours needs a legal framework now.
You are integrating third-party AI into your product or workflow.
When your product uses an AI API — OpenAI, Anthropic, Google — your terms of service, privacy policy, and vendor contracts must account for AI-specific data processing, output liability, and IP ownership. Most standard SaaS contracts don't cover any of this.
A customer, partner, or investor has asked about your AI governance practices.
Enterprise buyers and institutional investors now include AI governance in their diligence process. An undocumented AI governance program is a red flag that can delay deals, increase negotiating friction, and sometimes kill them entirely.
You operate in a regulated industry — finance, health, education, or HR tech.
Sector regulators are moving fast on AI. The CFPB, HHS, DOE, and EEOC all have AI guidance in effect or pending. A governance framework that maps your AI use cases to applicable regulations is a compliance requirement, not a nice-to-have.
You have received a privacy complaint or regulator inquiry related to automated decisions.
Quebec Law 25, CCPA, and EU GDPR all give individuals rights related to automated decision-making — the right to explanation, the right to contest, the right to human review. Without documented governance, responding to a regulator complaint becomes an improvised, expensive exercise.
What You Get
- Risk Assessment
AI Use Case Legal Audit
A structured review of every AI system you build or deploy — mapping data flows, third-party vendors, output use cases, and jurisdiction-specific compliance obligations.
- Written Framework
AI Governance Policy
A documented AI governance policy that defines your accountability structure, internal review procedures, bias mitigation protocols, and prohibited use cases — ready for investor and enterprise due diligence.
- Compliance Roadmap
Regulatory Gap Analysis
A jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction assessment mapping your current AI practices to applicable law — EU AI Act, CCPA, Quebec Law 25, CPPA — with a prioritized remediation roadmap.
- Ongoing Counsel
AI Compliance Retainer
Fractional legal support for AI-intensive companies — monthly monitoring of regulatory developments, contract review for AI vendors, and advisory on new product features as they are built.
Flat Fee. No Surprises.
Essentials
From $3,500one-time assessment- AI use case inventory
- Jurisdiction exposure map
- Written risk summary
- Remediation priority list
- Recommended
Full Framework
From $5,500one-time engagement- Everything in Essentials
- AI Governance Policy document
- Regulatory gap analysis (US + Canada)
- Vendor contract review (up to 3)
- Board/investor summary memo
Ongoing Advisory
From $2,500/momonthly retainer- Regulatory monitoring
- Quarterly governance review
- AI feature counseling (ad hoc)
- Priority response
Your Questions Answered
Yes, if you are building AI products, integrating AI APIs, or using AI in any customer-facing workflow. Investors, enterprise buyers, and regulators are all asking for documented AI governance — and Quebec Law 25 requires it for automated decision systems affecting Quebec residents.
The EU AI Act is the world's first comprehensive AI law, in force since August 2024. It applies to any company whose AI system is used in the EU — including by European customers of a US or Canadian company. High-risk AI systems (HR, credit, education, law enforcement) face the strictest requirements.
An AI risk assessment is a legal audit of every AI system your company builds or deploys — documenting data sources, model types, output use cases, third-party dependencies, and the legal obligations that attach to each. It is the foundation of any AI governance program.
An Essentials risk assessment typically takes 2–3 weeks. A Full Framework engagement takes 4–6 weeks depending on the complexity of your AI stack. Ongoing retainer advisory is continuous from the first month.
In California, CCPA/CPRA, AB 2930 (automated decision technology in employment), and sector-specific regulations apply. In Canada, PIPEDA (federal), Quebec Law 25, and the proposed AIDA (federal AI Act) are the primary frameworks. StarGuard Law is licensed in both jurisdictions.
