Goldberg Segalla partner Frank Ramos, a renowned artificial intelligence thought leader and advocate for the ethical adoption of AI by the legal industry, spoke with Texas Lawyer regarding two more occurrences of fake AI-generated cases being included in court filings.

The article, “Fake Case Citations Put 2 Lawyers on Hot Seat,” by Laura Lorek, explores instances in Texas and Pennsylvania that center around attorneys including alleged fake cases in court filings that cannot be found or verified by respective opposing counsel or courts. The Texas judge gave counsel 10 days to file copies of the unverified cases, while the Pennsylvania court sanctioned the responsible attorney for submitting the fake cases in a product liability matter.

While not the first instances of AI-generated fake cases submitted in legal documents, Frank cautions attorneys to be especially vigilant when working with AI tools.

“Attorneys are referencing cases that don’t exist and typically what’s happening is that these individuals are using AI platforms that really aren’t meant for legal research,” he says. “Every lawyer has an obligation to read whatever they’re citing…even if you’re using LEXIS or Westlaw, there was a study done last summer that showed they get it wrong about 30 percent of the time.”

Frank goes on to describe a common occurrence – AI hallucinations – as all the more reason for attorneys to be especially careful when utilizing AI in case research. Frank notes that some AI generators like ChatGPT are not meant to craft legal briefs because they can make up case citations.

“Most people are treating AI as sort of the last step in legal research and really it should be step one or two of 10 steps, and that’s where the mistake happens… you have to confirm the content, trust and verify,” he says.

Frank also endorses harsher punishment for fake cases, arguing similar outcomes will continue until sanctions start to include suspensions.

“Each time this happens, it kind of sets back the use and application and adoption of AI, which is unfortunate.”

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MORE ABOUT GOLDBERG SEGALLA’S Frank Ramos:

Frank has dedicated his life to advocating for others. A nationally recognized legal advisor and litigator, Frank has been defending clients in civil litigation for more than 26 years, focusing his practice on retail, product liability, premises liability, trucking, insurance, and commercial disputes. A seasoned litigator, he has taken numerous trials and arbitrations to verdict or award.

Frank uses his extensive litigation experience to provide counsel, defense, and strategic guidance to retailers, developers, restaurants, fitness chains, hotels, resorts and other hospitality businesses. His representation has included negligent security, slip/trip and falls, catastrophic personal injury, trucking and motor vehicle accidents, employment and construction claims, as well as a variety of commercial disputes ranging from intellectual property and breach of contract to bad faith, franchise agreements, and landlord-tenant issues.