The Perils of ChatGPT

Horror stories of unblinking reliance on ChatGPT have become common across the professional industries. Law is no exception. Employing ChatGPT to write or assist with a brief is especially tempting due to the time consuming nature of legal research and writing. Resist it. The latest cautionary tale comes from Kansas, where an IP litigator got caught submitting a brief with case citations hallucinated by ChatGPT. The culprit is now facing sanctions from the federal district court in Kansas. Counsel said he was primarily responsible for drafting the opposition to the motion to exclude expert testimony and said he’d asked ChatGPT to assist him in finding Tenth Circuit and federal case law relevant to the case. Further, counsel said he incorporated three of the four case citations and quotes into his draft brief but did not later double-check the citations as intended. So while ChatGPT can be convenient for other matters, one should be highly cautious in relying on it for legal research and writing.

About the Author

Christopher Keleher clerked for the Hon. William J. Bauer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. This unique opportunity provided Mr. Keleher with an invaluable understanding of the inner workings of an appellate court. He saw what persuades judges and what does not, and utilizes this knowledge every time he writes an appellate brief. The Keleher Appellate Law Group handles all phases of appellate litigation in federal and state courts across the country. Read more here.