UK High Court Warns Lawyers Against Misuse of AI After Fake Case Citations

UK High Court Warns Lawyers Against Misuse of AI After Fake Case Citations
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The UK High Court has issued a strong warning to lawyers to prevent misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) following incidents involving fabricated legal citations, The Guardian reported. In two recent cases, lawyers submitted dozens of fake case-law references—some entirely fictitious, others containing false quotes—likely generated by AI tools.

In an £89 million damages case against Qatar National Bank, 18 out of 45 cited cases were fabricated, with the claimant admitting to using publicly available AI. Separately, Haringey Law Centre cited five phantom cases in a housing dispute, leading to negligence findings against the lawyer involved.

Dame Victoria Sharp, president of the King’s Bench Division, highlighted the risks AI poses to justice and public confidence. She urged legal bodies to urgently address this issue and warned that misuse could lead to sanctions, including contempt of court proceedings.

The Law Society’s chief executive emphasized the importance of verifying AI-generated content due to risks of inaccurate outputs. Similar AI-related citation problems have arisen in UK, Danish, and US courts, underscoring the growing challenge of managing AI’s role in legal work.