The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence by law firms is exposing a difficult gap between what the technology can do and what lawyers remain professionally responsible for. As AI-generated hallucinations lead to fabricated citations and other errors, lawyers must navigate evolving guidance while remaining accountable for the work they submit. A New York City Bar Association paper published in August examined guidance covering AI use across 21 jurisdictions.
It found that lawyers were operating without a single, industrywide approach, with courts and professional bodies developing their own rules and recommendations. As AI use expands, the lack of standardized guidance raises concerns. A 2026 survey of more than 1,300 legal professionals found that 69 percent were using general purpose AI for work, while only 9 percent of firms had a written, enforced AI policy.
The risks are no longer theoretical. Earlier this year, in the federal civil rights case Withers v. City of Aberdeen, a Mississippi judge sanctioned four lawyers after both sides submitted filings containing hallucinated case citations generated through AI.
Two attorneys were barred from appearing in the district for two years and fined, while two local attorneys were also sanctioned. In February 2025, a Wyoming federal judge sanctioned three attorneys in the Wadsworth v. Walmart case after a filing produced with the firm's own AI platform cited eight nonexistent cases.
The lawyer who drafted the filing was fined $3,000 and lost his admission to practice in the case, while two other attorneys were each fined $1,000. The cases reflect a principle already established in professional rules. The American Bar Association's Formal Opinion 512 says lawyers using generative AI remain subject to their existing duties, including competence, confidentiality, supervision and candor to a tribunal.
For firms, however, translating those obligations into day-to-day practice is not always straightforward. Cliff McKinney of Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC, a legal ethics lawyer who has written about AI and ABA Opinion 512, told Newsweek that the lack of consistent guidance creates compliance challenges, particularly around confidentiality and attorney client privilege. "Most problems with the use of AI boil down to the failure of the attorney to verify the accuracy of the AI's results," McKinney said.
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