AI generates fictitious court cases
Major American law firm Morgan & Morgan, specializing in personal injury cases, sent an urgent warning to more than 1,000 of its lawyers following an incident involving artificial intelligence in court practice. The cause was a case where AI generated non-existent court precedents, which jeopardized the firm’s reputation and the careers of its employees.
The situation escalated after a federal judge in Wyoming threatened sanctions against two of the firm’s lawyers who included fictitious court citations in a lawsuit against Walmart. One of the attorneys admitted in court documents last week that he used an AI program that “hallucinated” non-existent cases, and apologized for what he called an unintentional error.
According to Reuters, the trend of AI generating legal fiction in court documents has led courts across the country to question or apply disciplinary measures to attorneys in at least seven cases over the past two years. This has created a new high-tech problem for both litigation participants and judges.
The Walmart case stands out because it involves a well-known law firm and a major corporate defendant. However, similar examples have appeared in various lawsuits since chatbots like ChatGPT ushered in the AI era, highlighting new risks in litigation.
A Morgan & Morgan representative did not respond to a request for comment, and Walmart declined to comment. The judge has not yet ruled on disciplinary measures against the lawyers in the Walmart case, which involved an allegedly defective hoverboard toy.
This case demonstrates the growing risks of using artificial intelligence in legal practice and emphasizes the need for more thorough verification of AI-generated information, especially when it comes to court documents.
