Incidents gathered from public reporting around the world. Each one links to the articles it came from. None of it is a finding that anyone broke the law.
Reports people file about their own experience are not shown here and never will be without their agreement. Tell us what happened to you.
44 incidents closest to “Westlaw Advantage” · matched on meaning · public reporting
The attorney's use of generative AI to draft a legal brief produced incorrect case citations, subjecting the attorney to potential court sanctions and affecting the integrity of the filing.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Attorneys from Ellis George LLP and K&L Gates LLP submitted a brief to a special master in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California containing numerous hallucinated legal citations generated by AI tools including CoCounsel, Westlaw Precision, and Google Gemini. The lawyers failed to verify the citations, and even after being alerted to errors, filed a corrected brief that still contained fake authorities. Special Master Michael Wilner found the conduct tantamount to bad faith, struck the brief, denied discovery relief, and ordered the firms to jointly pay $31,100 in the defendant's legal fees.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Three Butler Snow lawyers were removed from a case and publicly reprimanded by a federal judge after they filed motions containing five non-existent case citations generated by ChatGPT. The firm apologised and hired Morgan Lewis to review all citations, finding no other errors. The judge referred the lawyers to the Alabama State Bar and ordered them to disclose the sanctions to all clients and judges in pending cases. The incident highlights the risks of using AI for legal research without verification.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Generated legal filings that were submitted to a court, potentially affecting the client's case and the court's proceedings.
1 source article · read the reporting →
In-house counsel group accuses rival of training AI on its materials Reuters
1 source article · read the reporting →
A junior advocate in South Africa used the AI tool Legal Genius to draft court submissions for an urgent licensing dispute. The written arguments contained multiple non-existent case citations, which the presiding judge discovered. The junior counsel admitted to using the AI tool, apologised, and was referred to the Legal Practice Council for investigation, while the senior counsel also apologised for conducting only a 'sense-check'.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
The system screened job applicants and rejected them, allegedly discriminating based on age and sex.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Workday Gains an Edge in AI Hiring Bias Fight: California Brief - Bloomberg Law News
1 source article · read the reporting →
A Melbourne lawyer used AI software Leap to generate a list of case citations for a family court hearing. The citations were fake, causing the hearing to be adjourned. The lawyer apologized and paid costs, but was referred to the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner for investigation. The software vendor Leap stated that a verification process was available but not used by the lawyer.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Two lawyers from Levidow, Levidow, & Oberman used ChatGPT to research legal precedents for a client's personal injury case against Avianca. The AI chatbot generated six non-existent cases, which the lawyers submitted to a federal court without verification. After the opposing party and the judge questioned the citations, the lawyers initially stood by them before admitting the error. The judge dismissed the case and imposed a $5,000 fine on the lawyers for bad faith conduct.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
The Federal Court denied leave to file an AI-generated pleading, delaying the applicant's case.
1 source article · read the reporting →
The exam software experienced technical failures that prevented candidates from logging in or completing the California bar exam.
1 source article · read the reporting →
米連邦地裁がWorkdayの主張を退け、AI採用訴訟の継続を認める - Межа. Новини України.
A federal court in San Francisco declined Workday's request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging its AI-powered hiring software discriminates against applicants with disabilities and other protected groups. Judge Rita Lin ruled that California anti-discrimination law may apply and allowed claims that the software screens candidates using proxy indicators such as employment gaps to move forward. Workday maintains its tools evaluate only qualifications and do not make hiring decisions.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Kusmin L. Amarsingh, a Maryland lawyer representing herself, was sanctioned $1,000 by the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit after she used ChatGPT to draft an appellate brief that cited multiple nonexistent cases. The court found her actions reckless and referred her to Maryland attorney-disciplinary authorities. Amarsingh admitted the error and completed a continuing legal education course on AI ethics. The underlying racial bias lawsuit against Frontier Airlines was dismissed.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Attorney Howe used Westlaw's CoCounsel AI to draft appellate briefs for a criminal defendant. The briefs contained fabricated quotations and misrepresented case holdings. The Sixth Circuit discovered the AI use from the file name and, upon investigation, found the citations false. Howe admitted he failed to adequately review the AI-generated content. The court denied compensation, appointed new counsel, and referred Howe for disciplinary proceedings.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Heather Hersh, an appellate attorney, used generative AI to draft a reply brief in a Fair Credit Reporting Act case. The brief contained multiple fabricated legal quotations and inaccurate assertions. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Hersh failed to verify the AI-generated content and was not candid about her use of AI, imposing a $2,500 monetary sanction under FRAP 46(c) and inherent authority. The court emphasised that attorneys must verify AI outputs and remain honest with the court.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Chicago Tribune Company, LLC filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI, Inc. in the Southern District of New York on December 4, 2025. The complaint alleges copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 501. The case is assigned to Judge Loretta A. Preska.
5 source articles · read the reporting →
The AI tool generated fictitious case law citations that were included in a court filing, affecting the plaintiff and the court.
1 source article · read the reporting →
The AI generated fabricated legal citations in a court filing, misleading the court and opposing counsel.
1 source article · read the reporting →
The system generated fabricated legal citations and quotes in a court filing, misleading the court and opposing counsel.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Perplexity, an AI search engine, was sued by Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal and New York Post, on October 21, 2024. The lawsuit alleges that Perplexity's AI reproduces copyrighted articles without permission. Perplexity denies the allegations and states it responded to outreach from News Corp before the lawsuit was filed.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
The lawyer submitted AI-generated court documents containing false citations and quotes, harming his client's discrimination case.
1 source article · read the reporting →
The AI generated fabricated legal citations that were submitted to the court, affecting the defendant and the judicial process.
1 source article · read the reporting →
The AI generated fabricated legal citations that were presented to the court, affecting the defendants and the judicial process.
1 source article · read the reporting →
