Overview

• Federal and state courts in the U.S. and Canada have sanctioned law firms and attorneys for submitting legal briefs containing fabricated citations generated by AI tools.
• In California, Special Master Michael Wilner fined two law firms over $31,000 after discovering nine inaccurate citations in a brief, including two non-existent cases.
• Ontario Superior Court Judge Fred Myers ordered a lawyer to show cause for contempt after finding AI-related citation errors in a legal factum, including references to non-existent cases.
• In New Mexico, a lawyer was fined $1,500, mandated to complete ethics training, and required to self-report to state bars after outsourcing work with unverified AI-generated citations.
• Legal experts warn that these reported cases are likely a fraction of a systemic issue, with courts emphasizing the need for attorneys to rigorously verify AI-assisted research.