Fines alone aren't enough to stop attorneys from AI errors
Increasing sanctions hasn’t stopped lawyers from including artificial intelligence-generated fabrications in court briefs. (Image from Shutterstock)
Increasing sanctions hasn’t stopped lawyers from including artificial intelligence-generated fabrications in court briefs.
Two lawyers who filed court documents with fake citations and quotes received a record $110,000 fine this year, up markedly from a $5,000 fine in a then-landmark case in 2023, according to a story from Law.com.
But the threat of six-figure penalties hasn’t deterred the practice. According to a database of AI hallucinations maintained by researcher Damien Charlotin, there have been 1,430 of these cases in the United States and more than 2,000 worldwide, Law.com reports.
Stephen Gillers, a professor at the New York University School of Law, told Law.com that “disciplinary action against the lawyers leading to a sanction of suspension of their right to practice law” would be a much more effective deterrent.
“That hits some harder than getting hit with the fine in the pocketbook,” Gillers told Law.com. “It cuts off their source of income.”
In April, the Nebraska Supreme Court reportedly suspended an attorney who filed a brief with 57 fabricated citations, Law.com reports. In November 2023, another attorney in Colorado received a one-year, one-day suspension for AI-generated citations.
In the Nebraska case, the attorney initially denied using AI, Law.com reports. And in the Colorado case, the attorney mistakenly faulted a legal intern for the mistakes.
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