The Second Circuit referred a New York attorney for punishment Tuesday for submitting a brief citing a fake case generated by ChatGPT and not checking over the brief to catch the mistake (article available here).
The lawyer was referred to the Second Circuit's grievance panel.
"The brief presents a false statement of law to this court, and it appears that attorney Lee made no inquiry, much less the reasonable inquiry required by Rule 11 and long-standing precedent, into the validity of the arguments she presented," the court wrote.
The panel said that attorneys have a responsibility to ensure that any argument they make to the court is "legally tenable," which at a minimum requires them to have read the legal authorities they cite — a condition that was not met in this case.
The panel noted that several courts have proposed or enacted local rules or orders to address the use of artificial intelligence tools. "But such a rule is not necessary to inform a licensed attorney, who is a member of the bar of this court, that she must ensure that her submissions to the court are accurate," the panel said.
The case is Park v. Kim, 22-2057 (2d Cir. Jan. 30, 2024).