DAVID WEISENFELD , ABA Journal; Lack of oversight may be why younger lawyers use fake AI citations
"Under Rule 5.1 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, a partner in a law firm and a lawyer who—individually or together with other lawyers—has managerial authority in a law firm must make “reasonable efforts” to ensure all lawyers in the firm conform to the Rules of Professional Conduct.
But what are reasonable efforts in the age of generative AI, which has seen lawyers being sanctioned for citing fictitious cases?...
In the 2024 Massachusetts case Smith v. Farwell, a lawyer for the plaintiff filed legal memoranda that cited and relied on fictitious cases. Acknowledging his ignorance of AI and disclaiming any intention to mislead the court, the lawyer attributed the inclusion of the cases to an associate and two recent law school graduates who had not yet passed the bar who worked on the brief.
The judge credited the attorney’s contrition, but he said it did not exonerate him of all fault and ordered him to pay a $2,000 sanction.
Just as ignorance of the law is no excuse, a lack of technical knowledge does not justify any sort of failure to supervise, according to Lucian Pera, a partner with Adams and Reese."
No comments:
Post a Comment