ABA Journal Interviews Pera on Fake AI Citations in the Legal Industry

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Adams & Reese Partner Lucian Pera was interviewed in an ABA Journal article, “Lack of Oversight May Be Why Younger Lawyers Use Fake AI Citations.” The legal news magazine examined how artificial intelligence and remote work are creating new wrinkles in the scope of a senior attorney’s duty to supervise a more junior lawyer or nonlawyers when it comes to citations.

Under Rule 5.1 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, a partner in a law firm and a lawyer who – individually or together with other lawyers – has managerial authority in a law firm must make “reasonable efforts” to ensure all lawyers in the firm conform to the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Pera said just as ignorance of the law is no excuse, a lack of technical knowledge does not justify any sort of failure to supervise.

“With AI, I’ve got to be trained to look at others’ work products and paralegals’ draft documents. I’m still amazed at the stories of lawyers submitting cases with fake AI citations,” said Pera.

Pera is one of the nation’s leading legal ethics practitioners. For more than 30 years, Pera has represented clients in commercial litigation, media law, legal ethics, and lawyer regulation – advising lawyers, law firms, and businesses on legal ethics, compliance, risk management, and innovative legal service models. 

Pera said that in his early years of practice, he worked for a lawyer who would pull every case in the law library to check associates’ work. “That sounds crazy, but it’s not crazy at all. I don’t necessarily read and check every single case, but it’s my responsibility if I don’t.”

Another big issue with the duty to supervise involves the rise of remote work. Pera asks, “How do you supervise when you can’t walk down the hall and ask them questions?”

“You can’t have someone working remotely without having confidence the systems they’re using are safe. That’s a real issue,” Pera adds.