You may have heard about lawyers getting in trouble after using AI for legal research and including fake cases in documents they prepared for court. AI may sometimes be a useful tool, but it’s only a tool. The reliability of AI results can vary, and it sometimes makes mistakes. So you always need to check its results!

Whether you’re a lawyer or a litigant, when you file any material with the Court, you need to check it carefully to make sure it’s accurate. If your material was created or assisted by AI, you need to be extra careful. 

The BC Provincial Court has added some guidance on using AI to its website. It points out that AI tools can produce incorrect information and misrepresent the law. They can also generate fabricated cases, sometimes called “hallucinations”, that come with fake citations. (A citation is a unique combination of letters and numbers that identify a judge’s decision and help you find it in online databases.) 

There are things you can do to avoid mistakes in material produced by AI. 

Check AI results

When doing legal research, you may be trying to learn about the law that applies to your situation and how judges in BC or Canada have decided cases like yours. 

Before accepting what AI says about the law, check it.

If it mentions a section of a law (an act, statute or regulation), look up the section and read it yourself. If it refers to a judgment (a judge’s reasons for decision in a court case), search for that case and read it yourself. 

Did AI summarize the law or judgment accurately?  If not, don’t use the AI summary. 

Where can you find Canadian law and judgments to do this checking? 

Government websites contain provincial and federal laws. CanLii, a free online database of Canadian law, is a good place to look for judgments, and some courts post their judgments on their websites.

Tip: Sometimes AI gets a case name right but the citation wrong, or it does the opposite. You may be able to find the judgment by searching just the case name or just the citation in CanLii. After you  read it, if it’s helpful, use the correct name and citation in any material you prepare for court. 

Where to look for judgments:

       CanLii

       BC Provincial Court judgments

       BC Court of Appeal and Supreme Court judgments

       Supreme Court of Canada judgments

Where to look for laws:

       BC laws

       Laws of Canada 

Learn more about legal research:

       Conducting legal research

Include hyperlinks 

If you mention a law or a judgment in typed material you prepare for the Court, include a hyperlink to it, if possible. Make sure to mention any section, paragraph or page number that you quote. Doing this helps the judge find and read the law and judgments that help your case, and it saves them time. If they can’t find the law or judgment you mention, they won’t be able to consider it. 

Be truthful if asked about your use of AI

It’s important to be accurate and truthful in everything you say in court. If a judge or judicial justice asks whether or how you used AI in preparing your case, answer truthfully. This duty applies to both litigants and lawyers.

A follower’s comment on the Court’s LinkedIn account pointed out how AI can serve as an important accessibility tool. Judges understand that AI research and drafting tools may help some litigants, including people with disabilities, prepare for court. What’s important is checking its results and telling the judge how you used it if they ask. 

Remember too that some AI tools add the documents and information you upload to their databases, so you may want to remove any personal details about yourself or others before uploading. 

Of course, lawyers must comply with all their professional responsibilities when using AI, including the Law Society of BC’s “Guidance on Professional Responsibility and Generative AI”. Make sure you understand and follow the guidance. 

Guidance on Professional Responsibility and Generative AI (Law Society of BC)

The bottom line

Both lawyers and litigants must carefully review any AI‑generated or AI‑assisted material used in court to make sure it’s authentic, accurate and reliable.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and court proceedings.

Photo: Steve Johnson on Unsplash