90-Day Suspension of Lawyer Who Filed ChatGPT-Written Motion

Nov 25, 2023 ·

On November 23, 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court suspended a lawyer for 90 days for filing a "ChatGPT-written motion" with hallucinated cases in a state court case. The lawyer, who remained unnamed, had used OpenAI's ChatGPT language model to generate the motion, which was filled with inaccuracies and false information.

The Colorado Supreme Court found that the lawyer had violated several core rules of professional conduct, including those related to competence, diligence, communication, misconduct, and supervising other attorneys. In particular, the Court noted that the lawyer had not conducted any due diligence prior to submitting the motion, and had not made any effort to verify the accuracy of the information contained therein. Moreover, the Court also found that the lawyer had not provided any supervision or oversight over the use of the ChatGPT algorithm, and had not sought the advice of an expert regarding the potential legal implications of the motion.

The Court noted that the attorney's actions constituted "a grave failure to ensure the accuracy of the motions and pleadings he filed on behalf of his client." Furthermore, the Court held that the attorney's conduct had imposed a significant burden on the judicial system, and had caused harm to the public's trust in the justice system.

Given the gravity of the attorney's conduct, the Court determined that a suspension from practice for 90 days was the appropriate disciplinary sanction. This decision is notable, as it marks the first time a lawyer has been sanctioned by a state court for using an AI-generated document in practice. Although it will likely be some time before courts are able to properly assess the legality of using AI-generated materials in the courtroom, this decision serves as an important reminder to lawyers to exercise care when utilizing new technologies in their practice.