David Kluft

... included the striking of the offending brief, a $1,000 fine for each attorneys involved, and $8,000 in attorneys' fees.

... Innovations: (1) whether counsel conducted a reasonable inquiry before filing; (2) whether counsel promptly disclosed the AI use and corrected the inaccuracies; and (3) whether there was supervision at the firm consistent with Rules 5.1 and 5.3. Here sanction ... (cont.)

... worse for her case, because had she used AI herself instead of copying someone else's AI use, it would have been "slightly less offensive - but also sanctionable." In fashioning the sanction, the Court considered the three factors set forth by the E.D. Okla. in Mattox v. Product ... (cont.)

... explained that she didn't use AI herself but rather "found a brief on Westlaw which she incorporated into her opposition without verifying the citations, quotations and propositions of law." The Court didn't seem to believe her and found that the story she was telling was even ... (cont.)

... allegedly did so "by plagiarizing a brief [from another case] that was generated artificial intelligence," and that the judge in that other case had already expressly condemned for its "use of non-existent cases." When the court issued a show cause order, defendant's counsel ... (cont.)

Case caption and first page of Cassata v. Michael Macrina Architect, P.C.

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Is it worse to misuse #AI or to plagiarize a brief from someone else who misused #AI?

In a NY construction dispute, plaintiff moved to strike defendant's affirmative defenses. Defendant's counsel of course opposed but ... (cont.)

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... it nitpicked the cited rule violations and held that 8.4(g) didn’t apply because violation of a protective order is better characterized as just a criminal matter than a failure to follow a court order.

stalking, and contempt. TN publicly censured him for a violation of Rule 4.1 & 8.4(c) (deceptive conduct), 8.4(b) (criminal conduct), 8.4(d) (conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice) and 8.4(g) (violating court order). KY reciprocated with a public reprimand, although ... (cont.)

... from the website of a TN trial court and filled it out – including sections reserved for the court such as the date of next hearing - to make it look like he was suing the EX. He then posted the fraudulent warrant on the Ex’s front door. He was criminally charged with harassment, ... (cont.)

Image of Blank Tennessee Civil Summons

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If I download blank court forms and use them to settle a personal grudge, which rules have I violated?

The EX of a TN/KY attorney obtained a restraining order against him. In retaliation, he downloaded a civil warrant form ... (cont.)

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Harvard Art Museum

Hand holding tube of lickable snack out to tortoise shell cat who chomps on it.

Happy #Caturday from Derry Girl, who is chewing on treats in the basement while it snows again. #Cats #CatsofBlueSky #tortie

... 11 sanctions (in a form to be determined) and ordered that all future filings by debtor must include a full copy of all authority cited.

... Court reverse its “hallucination” finding, and supported these arguments with more hallucinated cases. The debtor wrote: “How dare this court create a new rule stating that by using an assistant to produce a document I have somehow violated the rules!” The Court issued Rule ... (cont.)

... #ArtificialIntelligence and containing fake cases and quotations. At a hearing, the Court cautioned her and provided her with a copy of its AI policy. The debtor responded by filing a new motion that accused the Court of fabricating its AI policy after the fact, demanded the ... (cont.)

Memorandum of Decision and Order – #40 in Deborah Ann Mitchell (Bankr. D. Conn., 25-30757) – CourtListener.com Memorandum of Decision and Order Granting Motion for Relief from Stay and Order Regarding the Debtor's Future Filings (RE: 14 Motion for Relief From Stay filed by Creditor Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.). (sm...

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I escape sanctions for #AI hallucinations by accusing the Court of hallucinating its AI policy?

A pro se debtor in CT Bankruptcy Court filed numerous papers generated by or with the assistance of ... (cont.)

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... administration of the law should be free from all temptation and suspicion.”

...the case law is confused as to whether it should still be applied. In concurrence, Judge Pinson acknowledged the now-superseded origins of the language but felt that adhering to it was justified by the need for prosecutors to be held to a higher standard and because “the ... (cont.)

...or some other misconduct. The Court declined review. The dissent would have granted review because the “appearance of impropriety” standard derives from an old provision in the now-defunct ABA Code of Professional Responsibility that doesn’t appear in the modern Model Rules and because... (cont.)

... appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team.” The prosecution appealed, asking the GA Supreme Court to review whether a prosecutor may be disqualified based solely on “appearance of impropriety” absent a finding of an actual conflict of interest...(cont.)

...the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election. Defendants moved to disqualify a special prosecutor because he had a romantic relationship with the District Attorney. The Court granted the motion because, although there was no conflict and no misconduct, there was a “significant ...(cont.)

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can a prosecutor be disqualified based on an “appearance of impropriety” when there is no actual conflict?

A District Attorney brought charges against certain defendants alleged to have attempted to illegally manipulate...(cont.)

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... divorced from the context through which it was obtained, is [] irrelevant” because she was sanctioned “for misportraying an intent to mediate as a means to obtain such surveillance.”

... concluding her deceptive conduct violated Rules 4.1 and 8.4. On appeal, the lawyer argued that secret surveillance of an opponent is permissible so she should not have been sanctioned. The NV Supreme Court affirmed, holding that “the permissibility of sub rosa surveillance ... (cont.)

...gather evidence of the plaintiff’s physical condition. She hired an investigator to wait outside the mediation location and follow the plaintiff back to the casino where she was staying to take surveillance footage. The trial court issued a “reputational sanction” against the lawyer ... (cont.)

Woman at craps table in casino throwing chips in the air. Image by Pavel Danilyuk via Pexels

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I lure the opposing party to mediation in order to spy on them?

A NV lawyer representing the defendant in a personal injury case agreed to mediation. However, she had no intention of settling – she agreed to mediate in order to ... (cont.)

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... who drafted other parts of the brief without using #AI, and who reviewed but was not considered responsible for the other sections due to his junior status.

... signed by didn’t review the brief; (3) $3K for a senior counsel who signed but didn’t draft or review the brief, and was on vacation when it was filed; (4) $1K for local counsel who didn’t check cites despite having seen a prior red flag; and (5) no further sanction for the associate ... (cont.)

... hallucinated citations. The Court broke down the sanctions as follows. All five lawyers were reprimanded plus: (1) $5K sanction and disciplinary referral for the lawyer who used AI to draft the problematic section; (2) $3K for the lead counsel and firm managing partner who ... (cont.)

Memorandum & Order - DO NOT USE TO RULE ON MOTIONS – #218 in Lexos Media IP, LLC v. Overstock.Com, Inc. (D. Kan., 2:22-cv-02324) – CourtListener.com MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: the following language is stricken in Lexos's response to Overstock's summary-judgment motion: Doc. 193 at 38 and 39, the entire paragraph under the heading "1. 'Modify... to' Do...

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I get sanctioned for #AI hallucinations in briefs that were drafted by co-counsel while I was on vacation?

A bunch of TX patent lawyers admitted pro hac vice in KS submitted a brief section containing ... (cont.)

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