The two lawyers who submitted fake legal research generated by A.I. chatbot ChatGPT just got hit with a $5,000 fine and a scolding by a federal judge. The lawyers submitted a legal brief on an airline injury case in May that turned out to be riddled with citations from nonexistent cases. The attorneys, Steven A. Schwartz and Peter LoDuca of Levidow, Levidow & Oberman, initially defended their research even after opposing counsel pointed out that it was fake, but eventually apologized to the court.
Schwartz, who created the ChatGPT-generated brief, already had a court hearing on June 8 in which he explained his actions. At the hearing, he said he didn’t know that ChatGPT could fabricate legal precedents, and added that he was humiliated and remorseful.
