UK High Court Issues Warning On Unverified AI Use By Lawyers

The High Court of England and Wales has issued a ruling warning lawyers against relying on generative AI tools like ChatGPT for legal research without verifying accuracy.

Judge Victoria Sharp stated that such tools can produce false but convincing responses and that the lawyers have a professional duty to confirm all citations using authoritative sources. The ruling addressed two cases where court filings included multiple citations to non-existent or misquoted judgements. In one case, 18 out of 45 references did not exist. In the other, five citations were unverifiable. Judge Sharp said lawyers who misuse AI risk penalties ranging from public admonition to possible contempt proceedings.

The ruling will be sent to professional bodies, including the Bar Council and the Law Society.