Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Legal teams that increasingly rely on AI tools to help generate some of their legal work do so at their own risk. Recently Mississippi case In federal court, attorneys on both sides of a dispute over solar project fees were disciplined for using artificial intelligence software that caused hallucinations of cases or inserting cases into filings that were not part of state law.
The case, Withers v. City of Aberdeen, involves a dispute between attorney Tom Withers III and the City of Aberdeen, Miss. Withers. Withers claimed the city owed him fees related to the solar development project. He was not one of the lawyers reprimanded, but his legal team was, as were the lawyers representing the city, when the judge ruled that four of them — two on each side — had used artificial intelligence on files that had not been properly verified by human lawyers.
I drew the result Attention from the New York Timesamong other outlets, and could serve as a cautionary tale for those in the legal profession. It was Spotted for the first time By marketing and trade lawyer Rob Freund who posted about it on X, calling it an “AI comedy of errors.”
AI Comedy of Errors: Lawyers on both sides are abusing AI, citing fake hallucinations.
At the hearing, “both lawyers expressed their embarrassment and apologized to the court.”
“Neither of them checked the findings of the legal authority provided by Amnesty International before submitting their application… pic.twitter.com/8iogjshrep
– Rob Freund (@RobertFreundLaw) June 9, 2026
Website 404 Media Reported in Freund’s postbringing national attention to CSE.
US District Judge Sharion Aycock fined the four lawyers and closed the case due to the AI errors, among other legal penalties.
“The court finds that from their admissions, all four lawyers failed to verify the legal authorities mentioned in their files in violation of Article 11 of the Rules,” it said.
Article 11 of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure It states that an attorney must sign a legal document submitted, essentially pledging to the judge that what is being submitted is true.
“All attorneys are licensed and presumably well-trained in the law,” Aycock wrote. “Their practice of blind reliance on technology led to the hallucinatory citations contained in their private files.”
AI hallucinations are errors or lies that large language models routinely serve up when they string words together into a narrative that sounds plausible.
Legal pitfalls of Amnesty International
The Mississippi case isn’t the only case where lawyers have gotten in trouble because of AI errors. Legal snafus recently led New York State to adopt new rules around generative AI — effective June 1, for example, results generated using tools like ChatGPT It is not protected by attorney-client privilege.
The largest American bar association, American Bar AssociationHe said in a statement to CNET that lawyers face new and complex challenges when it comes to using artificial intelligence in their work.
AMA President Michelle A. Behnke: “Lawyers realize that generative AI outputs require scrutiny and oversight.” “The American Bar Association is here to support its members as they navigate new laws, new technology, and new practice tools.”
The group has a working group on artificial intelligence and in December Published a report Covers AI adoption among lawyers, best practices, and AI policies. It has also been issued Ethical guidance for lawyers using artificial intelligence.
Among her tips: “Lawyers must understand” the benefits and risks associated with “the technologies used to deliver legal services to clients.”
