Law Firms
Buchalter escapes sanctions after associate who used AI for ‘wordsmithing’ takes blame for hallucinations
Buchalter has escaped sanctions for a case filing with “hallucinated” cases after one of its attorneys took responsibility for the errors and the law firm pledged to educate its attorneys on the misuse of generative artificial intelligence. (Image from Shutterstock)
Buchalter has escaped sanctions for a case filing with “hallucinated” cases after one of its attorneys took responsibility for the errors and the law firm pledged to educate its attorneys on the misuse of generative artificial intelligence.
U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon of the District of Oregon said in a Nov. 12 order that he was satisfied with the firm’s remedial actions and he won’t be imposing formal sanctions.
Reuters and Law360 have coverage.
The errors turned up in a court filing supporting interim attorney fees in a trademark lawsuit filed by Green Building Initiative Inc. against Green Globe Limited. In an Oct. 27 order to show cause, Simon said one cited case was “totally fake” and another was “almost real” because there is a case with the name, but it is a state case instead of a federal case as indicated.
Green Building Initiative is represented by lawyers from Buchalter and Snell & Wilmer, but the document with errors was signed only by Buchalter attorneys.
Buchalter senior associate David Bernstein drafted the document, and he “admits that he alone, and not GBI or GBI’s other attorneys, is responsible for the two hallucinated citations,” Buchalter said in its response to the order to show cause.
Bernstein had intended to use Microsoft Copilot for “wordsmithing” purposes and wasn’t aware that it had inserted cases during the editing process, the Buchalter response said. e had copied portions of his brief into Microsoft Copilot and instructed it to improve the writing.
He is “beyond remorseful” for using the AI tool for editing and for failing to conduct “a full review of the final product,” according to the response.
He “is deeply apologetic to the court for wasting its time, as well as to GBI and its other attorneys for the negative and public consequences of his actions.”
Buchalter policy prohibits attorneys from using generative AI unless the product is approved by the firm’s AI committee, the response said. Lawyers who use the technology are required to inform all supervising attorneys and independently verify the accuracy of the output.
Besides educating its staff about AI, Buchalter said it would write off attorney fees in connection with the faulty document, and it has blocked unauthorized AI products on firm computers. Bernstein will also take continuing legal education classes on AI, and he and the firm will donate a proposed sum of $5,000 to the Campaign for Equal Justice.
The ABA Journal was unable to find a listing for Bernstein on Buchalter’s website Wednesday. Buchalter did not immediately respond to the Journal’s request for comment submitted through the firm’s contact form.
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