legaltech.fyi Beta

Tracker

Sanctions watch

Every incident where a lawyer got caught filing AI-fabricated citations. The Hall of Shame.

Embed this
8
Incidents tracked
3
Incidents in 2026
$12,000
In fines, where reported
3 of 8 report an amount

The curve

Incidents per month

Last 18 months of published incidents, by the date of the court's order.

Apr 2025 Sep 2026

Blamed by name

ChatGPT 151 Claude 9 CoCounsel 8 Copilot 8 Gemini 8 Lexis+ AI 6 AI-assisted legal software 4 Westlaw Precision 4 ChatGPT-4o 2 ChatOn 2 Eve 2 Google AI 2 LEAP 2 Perplexity AI 2 AI Overviews 1 Archie 1 Centient AI 1 ChatGPT-4 1 CoCounsel, Westlaw Precision, Google Gem 1 Descrybe.ai 1 First Drafts 1 GPT-3.5 1 Ghostwriter Legal 1 Google Scholar 1 Grammarly 1 Grok 1 Irys 1 Legal Genius 1 LegalAI 1 MX2.law 1 OpenCase 1 Strongsuit 1 vLex Fastcase 1

Counts only incidents where the filing court or the reporting named the tool.

Hall of Shame

All Warned 5 Fined 2 Referred to the bar 1

Showing 1–8 of 8 incidents involving Copilot. Clear filters

Warned Copilot 2026-08-01
Paul Held cited fake cases in court papers, and the South Carolina bankruptcy court ordered him to complete continuing legal education, including AI ethics training.
In re Richburg · Paul Held · South Carolina bankruptcy court · SC
““for his blind reliance on a technological tool which he did not seem to fully understand.””
news.bloomberglaw.com ↗
The file →
  • In re Richburg; solo practitioner in South Carolina
  • He used Microsoft CoPilot to find cases and filed them without checking they existed
  • No monetary sanctions; the court required AI-ethics CLE
  • Bankruptcy court in South Carolina
  • Date not given; court called it a lesson learned for the bar in general
Fined $5K Copilot 2026-06-11
Ginsburg filed a brief with a fake case, fake quotes, and incorrect legal propositions, and the court imposed sanctions and struck the response.
McCormick v. Texakoma Financial, Inc. · Amy L.B. Ginsburg · U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas · TX
“If someone—even an intern—gets the case name, number, year, and quotation wrong, they are not struggling with research or citation formatting. They are struggling with honesty.”
tcpaworld.com ↗
The file →
  • McCormick v. Texakoma Financial, Inc. against Amy L.B. Ginsburg
  • Brief contained a fake case, fake quotes, and incorrect legal propositions
  • Court ordered a $5,000 penalty and struck the response
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Texas
  • June 11, 2026; court also ordered publication, CLE, and future verification certification
Warned Copilot 2025-12-11
Dana McClain filed a pleading with AI-generated citations that could not be verified, and the Arkansas Supreme Court issued a show-cause order.
Dana McClain · Dana McClain · Arkansas Supreme Court · AR
“In its order, the Supreme Court reminded attorneys they are responsible for the accuracy of all filings and warned that misuse of artificial intelligence in legal work could result in discipline, including substantial fines, suspension or loss of the privilege to practice law in Arkansas.”
ktlo.com ↗
The file →
  • Dana McClain was the Arkansas attorney involved.
  • She filed court documents containing AI-generated citations that could not be verified.
  • The Arkansas Supreme Court issued a show-cause order; the article does not report a monetary sanction.
  • Arkansas Supreme Court, Arkansas.
  • Dec. 11, 2025; she said she used Microsoft Office Copilot to draft the response and failed to verify the citations.
Warned Copilot 2025-09-29
A lawyer filed fabricated and misrepresented case law using Microsoft Copilot, and the tribunal issued a show-cause order.
ANPV & SAPV v Secretary of State for the Home Department · Upper Tribunal
damiencharlotin.com ↗
The file →
  • ANPV & SAPV v Secretary of State for the Home Department involved a lawyer filing.
  • Microsoft Copilot was the named AI tool.
  • The filing contained fabricated and misrepresented case law, and the tribunal issued a show-cause order.
  • Upper Tribunal, UK.
  • 29 September 2025; the page lists a show-cause order.
Referred to the bar $1K Copilot 2025-07-29
The attorney filed papers with AI-generated case summaries and misleading citations, and the court fined him $1,000 and referred him to the Attorney Grievance Committee.
Idehen v. Stoute-Phillip · Innocent Chinweze · New York trial court · NY
“The judge, Kimon C. Thermos, called the excuse an “incredible and unsupported statement.””
nysba.org ↗
The file →
  • Idehen v. Stoute-Phillip; the attorney for the landlord
  • Papers included cites to real cases that did not support the propositions stated and AI-generated summaries
  • The court imposed a $1,000 fine and referred the attorney to grievance authorities
  • New York trial court
  • Counsel first said he used Microsoft Copilot and did not read the cases cited
Warned Copilot 2025-07-23
Lawyer used Copilot resulting in false legal quotes and was ordered to undergo continuing legal education.
Vita Law Offices v. Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. · S.D. Florida · FL
damiencharlotin.com ↗
The file →
  • Vita Law Offices v. Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. involving an attorney
  • Counsel submitted false quotes from case law generated via Copilot
  • Court ordered the attorney to undergo mandatory CLE
  • Decided in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
  • Order issued on July 23, 2025
Fined $6K Copilot 2025-07-07
Post-trial filings contained about 30 defective citations generated by Copilot, Gemini, and Grok, and Judge Nina Y. Wang imposed sanctions.
Coomer v. Lindell · Christopher I. Kachouroff; Jennifer T. DeMaster; MyPillow attorneys · U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado · CO
“the “least severe sanction adequate to deter and punish defense counsel in this instance.””
llms-for-lawyers.com ↗
The file →
  • Coomer v. Lindell involving two attorneys representing Mike Lindell.
  • Attorneys used Copilot, Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, and Perplexity resulting in fake citations.
  • Fined $3,000 each (total $6,000), with an additional $5,000 fine on one attorney later.
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
  • Dated July 7, 2025; attorneys relied on a wide array of public consumer chatbots.
Get Sanctions Watch in your inbox
New AI-citation sanctions, the morning after they hit the docket.