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Be Careful When Relying on AI for Legal Research in the Orlando, Florida and Lake Mary, Florida Areas

Participants at the FLEA Seminar “The Probate Team 2024” learned vital information from Attorney and presenter Laird A. Lyle regarding AI research. 

Attorneys in Orlando, Florida and Lake Mary, Florida may use AI (Artificial Intelligence) for legal research. As an attorney in Florida, you are responsible to check the cases that AI finds for you when it does your research for you. You must verify such a case exists. Attorneys have experienced, in AI research, when they go to check the case site and the holding, that such a case does not exist. It is your legal and professional responsibility to verify all AI research that you do. You are liable for such research if it is incorrect. That is why you must always check and verify the AI research. If you do not do that, then you could face sanctions in court and a Florida Bar grievance. Please be aware, and please be careful! 

Recently, such a situation and case happened in the Middle District of Florida. The District Court for the Middle District of Florida reviewed a Report and Recommendation from the Grievance Committee, which found that an attorney engaged in professional misconduct. The findings included violations of various Florida Bar Rules due to lack of diligence, making misrepresentations to the court, knowingly disobeying tribunal rules, and other breaches of professional conduct, many of which seemingly stemmed from AI-generated excerpts and citations. 

In that case, the pleadings contained inaccurate authorities to support what appear to be mostly frivolous legal arguments in violation of Rule 4-1.3. The attorney admitted to the Committee in his telephonic interview that he used Westlaw and FastCase and may have used artificial intelligence to draft the documents he filed but was not able to check the excerpts and citations. The Committee found the attorney did not act with reasonable due diligence. The court stated that, although artificial intelligence is becoming a new tool for legal research, this tool can never take the place of an attorney’s responsibility to conduct reasonable diligence and provide accurate legal authority to the Court that supports a valid legal argument. 

If you have more questions regarding a Marital and Family Law matter, Guardianship matter, or Probate Administration matter, you may call Ann Marie Giordano Gilden at Ann Marie Giordano Gilden, P.A. at 407-732-7620 and set an initial consultation. You may also visit my website at: https://www.annmariegildenlaw.com 

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form an attorney client privilege.