Hello everyone and welcome to this Ethics Alert which will discuss the recent Florida Middle District Senior Judge’s Opinion and Order suspending a Florida lawyer from practicing before that court for one (1) year for filing false cases created by artificial intelligence. The case is In Re: Thomas Grant Neusom, Case No: 2:24-mc-2-JES and the March 8, 2024 Opinion and Order is here: https://ecf.flmd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2024-00002-6-2-mc
According to the January 4, 2024 Middle District Report and Recommendation of Grievance Committee, the matter was referred to the committee after the opposing counsel in the underlying litigation matter was unable to find the cases and asked the lawyer to provide copies. The Report states that the lawyer “provided non-responsive and evasive answers to the request for the cited authorities.” .
According to the Report, when the lawyer was asked about the court pleadings during a telephone interview by the committee, he said that he “used Westlaw and Fastcase and may have used artificial intelligence to draft the filing(s) but was not able to check the excerpts and citations.” In his written response, the lawyer did not offer any explanation for the fabricated cases “or provide any sense of understanding of the seriousness of the situation.”
The Report found that the lawyer’s conduct was “beyond a lack of due diligence as some of his legal authorities were completely fabricated.” In addition, “(w)hereas we understand that artificial intelligence is becoming a new tool for legal research, it 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.” The Report and Recommendation is here: https://www.lawnext.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/M.D.-Fla.-24-mc-00002-dckt-000003_000-filed-2024-02-01.pdf
After reviewing the Report and Recommendation, Senior U.S. District Judge John E. Steele issued an Opinion and Order dated March 8, 2024 suspending the lawyer from practice in the Middle District of Florida court for one year and requiring the lawyer to comply with the following conditions during the suspension:
- i. Attend and complete The Florida Bar’s Professionalism Workshop;
ii. Attend and complete all aspects of a Law Practice Management CLE;
iii. Attend and complete all aspects of the Practicing with Professionalism CLE; and
iv. Receive Counseling through the Florida Lawyers Assistance Program.
- Pay all outstanding monetary sanctions, fees, and costs levied against him, in any federal, state, or disciplinary actions;
- Complete all remediation ordered by The Florida Bar, if any;
- Complete all remediation ordered by any court, including reporting of any sanction orders levied by any court to the appropriate parties:
E. Re-read the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct and the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in full and certify in writing to this Court that he has done so; and
F. Report to the Court the completion of subparagraphs (A) through (E) of this paragraph on or before the date marking the end of the suspension period.
Bottom line: This is yet another example of the dangers of lawyers’ use of artificial intelligence, particularly for lawyers who are negligent and fail to ensure that all cases cited in a court document exist and are correct and are not the result of “AI hallucinations”. This lawyer is most likely also facing an investigation by The Florida Bar and potential disciplinary sanctions..
Be careful out there.
Disclaimer: this communication is not an advertisement, does not contain any legal advice, does not create an attorney/client relationship, and the comments herein should not be relied upon as legal advice by anyone who reads it.
Joseph A. Corsmeier, Esquire
Law Office of Joseph A. Corsmeier, P.A.
2999 Alt. 19, Suite A
Palm Harbor, Florida 34683
Office (727) 799-1688
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