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Sanctions watch

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

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5
Incidents tracked
2
Incidents in 2026
$0
In fines, where reported
0 of 5 report an amount

The curve

Incidents per month

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

Mar 2025 Aug 2026

Charting 4 of 5 incidents — the rest are undated or fall outside this window.

Blamed by name

ChatGPT 21 Copilot 5 AI-assisted legal software 1 Descrybe.ai 1 Generative artificial intelligence (unsp 1 Legal Genius 1 Lexis+ AI 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 5 incidents involving Copilot. Clear filters

Warned Copilot
A solo practitioner used Microsoft CoPilot to find supporting caselaw, filed it without checking the cases existed, and the bankruptcy court ordered a rule to show cause.
In re Richburg · Bankruptcy Court in South Carolina · SC
““for his blind reliance on a technological tool which he did not seem to fully understand.””
sandbergphoenix.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
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.
Paul Held · Paul Held · South Carolina bankruptcy court · SC
“from haste and a naive understanding of the technology”
news.bloomberglaw.com ↗
The file →
  • Paul Held, a solo practitioner, was sanctioned by the South Carolina bankruptcy court.
  • He cited fake cases in court papers after AI use.
  • The court ordered continuing legal education including AI ethics training.
  • The sanction was issued in South Carolina bankruptcy court.
  • The article says the citations generated by Microsoft Copilot came from haste and a naive understanding of the technology.
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.
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