AI Regulation Rule for Lawyers: Court Scraps Adoption Plans
On Monday, the federal appeals court in New Orleans announced its decision not to implement a first-of-its-kind rule at the appellate level regulating the use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers appearing before it.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, after considering the use of AI in legal practice and receiving largely negative public comments from lawyers, decided not to adopt the rule it first proposed in November.
The proposed rule aimed to regulate lawyers’ use of generative AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and apply to both attorneys and litigants appearing before the court without counsel. It would have required them to certify that any AI-generated filing had its citations and legal analysis reviewed for accuracy. Lawyers who misrepresented their compliance could face sanctions and the possibility of their filings being stricken.
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If adopted, the 5th Circuit would have been the first of the 13 federal appeals courts to have a rule specifically governing AI use, though some district courts and judges nationally have adopted similar policies. Other federal appeals courts have also been considering regulations on AI use by lawyers, following incidents of AI “hallucination” where attorneys submitted briefs with citations to non-existent cases.
However, public comments from the legal community largely opposed the proposal, arguing that existing rules were sufficient to address any issues with the technology and ensure the accuracy of court filings.
In its Monday notice, the 5th Circuit reminded parties and counsel that they remain “responsible” for ensuring that their filings with the court, including briefs, are carefully checked for truthfulness and accuracy as the rules already require.
