Lawyer who cited paraphrasing as direct quotes in 2nd Circuit brief says AI played a role
.jpg)
During federal appellate court oral arguments Friday, a New York lawyer reportedly admitted that he used artificial intelligence to write his client’s brief and missed some mistakes. (Image from Shutterstock)
During federal appellate court oral arguments Friday, a New York lawyer reportedly admitted that he used artificial intelligence to write his client’s brief and missed some mistakes.
Elliot Shields, who practices with Roth & Roth, did not immediately provide a response to an ABA Journal interview request.
According to Courthouse News Service, Shields represents Luisa Janssen Harger Da Silva, a student from Brazil who fainted and fell on a Brooklyn, New York City, subway track, was hit by a train, and lost an arm and a leg.
In 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York awarded her about $82 million, after finding that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority knew that people could fall on the tracks and did not take safety measures, NDTV reported.
The MTA appealed to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New York. According to Courthouse News Service, Shields sent letters to the 2nd Circuit acknowledging his errors before the Sept. 4 hearing.
At the hearing, he told the panel that the problem was not made-up cases but citing paraphrasing as direct quotes, according to the article.
“We were rushing, and we were sloppy,” he told the court. “I think that I transposed notes and put them in quotations.”
The panel—which comprised 2nd Circuit Judge Maria Araújo Kahn, Senior 2nd Circuit Judge Reena Raggi and U.S. District Judge Rachel Kovner of the Eastern District of New York—gave Shields a week to file a corrected brief.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
