#LegalEthics Tidbit: Is $58,000 in sanctions more than necessary to deter attorney use of #AI hallucinations? In a PR litigation, plaintiff’s counsel submitted motions containing at least fifty-five hallucinated and otherwise false ... (cont.) #lawsky #law www.linkedin.com/posts/davidk...

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Bro, stop trying to make “non-refundable” happen A VA lawyer charged prospective clients a $300 “non-refundable” consultation fee, which the lawyer treated as earned upon receipt and never deposited to a trust account. Two prospective ...(cont.) lnkd.in/e8kdqtpP #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Will I still get sanctioned if my #AI citation is only half-hallucinated? A CA attorney filed an opposition to a motion to dismiss containing the citation “Innovation Ventures, LLC, v. Pitts, 202 F. Supp. 3d 356 (E.D. Mich. 2016),” which... (cont.) lnkd.in/euva88Xa #lawsky #law

Found a mushroom. Not gonna share.

Harvard's Peabody Museum (weekday afternoon so no crowds!)

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I change the date of my client’s contract to avoid the statute of limitations? A GA lawyer filed a complaint for breach of contract. The contract, attached to the complaint as an exhibit, was undated except that “March 26, 2016” was ...(cont.) lnkd.in/eTKKkEvj #lawsky #Law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If draft an inaccurate affidavit for a third-party witness, am I a necessary witness too? A LA attorney representing a insurance company defendant in a hurricane damage lawsuit drafted an affidavit for a third-party witness ... (cont.) lnkd.in/eSNuAyDE #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If I get caught using hallucinated legal citations from #AI, should I keep using #AI for my citations anyway? Earlier this year, two lawyers representing the MyPillow guy in a CO case were sanctioned $6,000 ($3,000) each) for filing ... (cont.) lnkd.in/p/e4JtUzeS #lawsky #law

Seven Hills Park, Somerville

Happy #Caturday from Derry Girl, whose juggling lessons are not going that well. #cats #catsofbluesky #tortie

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can the whole DOJ be disqualified if different government agencies have adverse interests? A VA relator filed a qui tam action alleging illegal activities by five defense contractors and the Department of Defense in how contracts were ... (cont.) #lawsky #law lnkd.in/eBhEXp-P

#LegalEthics Tidbit: How many patent law practices can I have at once? A WI patent attorney was working at an IL intellectual property firm that (like most firms) did not allow its attorneys to simultaneously work for other firms. Knowing this ... (cont.) lnkd.in/eHpzA24m #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If I offer to represent a third-party witness at a deposition, is that illegal solicitation? An IL litigant suing a donut company moved to disqualify the donut company’s counsel from representing a third-party witness at a deposition ... (cont.) lnkd.in/ewk9YF3k #law

Sometimes it's nice to remember that even Marcus Aurelius was like "you don't have to comment on everything bro"

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If the judge exchanged a chocolate cake recipe with opposing counsel’s mom, can I get her recused? In a TN civil bench trial, the transcript began with a partial conversation between defense counsel and the judge about ... (cont.) lnkd.in/e4uA9cz7 #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If I misuse #AI for my client’s brief, do I owe my client a refund? A law clerk working for a UT attorney used ChatGPT to draft a petition, predictably resulting in hallucinated cases and quotations. The attorney didn’t know ... (cont.) lnkd.in/eUJutP6Q #law #lawsky

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Do I have a duty to remind opposing counsel of deadlines? In an Iowa medical malpractice case, the plaintiff missed a deadline for certifying a medical expert within 180 days of the defendant’s answer. Three months later, the trial ... (cont.) lnkd.in/eu2wav89 #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Does firm size matter when screening an incoming former government lawyer? In 2022, a NY law firm filed a putative class action on behalf of a pension fund against a certain individual. In 2025, while the case was pending ... (cont.) lnkd.in/dz5pF8Z5 #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Do I have a duty to detect opposing counsel’s #AI use? A CA attorney used #ArtificialIntelligence to write an appellate brief, didn’t bother to check the cites, and the result was over twenty hallucinated and fake citations. The Court ... (cont.) lnkd.in/eQQNJGTu #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Do I still have to bother checking the citations if I run my legal brief through ChatGPT, then Claude, then Gemini, then Grok? A lawyer filed a brief with the CA Court of Appeal that consisted almost entirely of hallucinated cases and ... (cont.) lnkd.in/eQQNJGTu #lawsky #law

No insult intended to fans, but why would anyone with access to a cat ever need to watch the NFL? #Cats #catsofbluesky #tortie

Happy #Caturday from Derry Girl, who is noticing the first signs of fall. #Cats #CatsofBluesky #Tortie

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Does what happens at the USPTO stay at the USPTO? A WA lawyer established a trademark prosecution practice in conjunction with a Chinese company in which he allowed non-lawyer staff in China to prepare trademark ... (cont.) Https://https://lnkd.in/eDrDH_a3 #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If I don’t even know what #ArtificialIntelligence is, can I still get sanctioned for using it? A CA attorney filed a motion for reconsideration that contained non-existent cases, falsely attributed quotations, and ... (cont.) www.linkedin.com/posts/davidk... #law #lawsky

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can a mediator tell disciplinary authorities whether one of the lawyers at a confidential mediation was drunk? A SC lawyer was accused of being intoxicated during a confidential mediation. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel asked the ... (cont.) lnkd.in/erZ3gac4 #law #lawsky

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I continue to hold myself out as an attorney on LinkedIn after I’m suspended? A NY/PA lawyer was administratively suspended for non-payment of registration fees. After his suspension, he “he drafted contracts, held himself ... (cont.) lnkd.in/e9EaX2Ab #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Am I disqualified if I hire my opponent’s paralegal in the middle of a case? During a litigation in the N.D. Ill., the plaintiff counsel’s paralegal applied for and got a job at the defendant’s law firm. The plaintiff moved to ... (cont.) #lawsky #law lnkd.in/ezX5AsRb

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If you cite only one case in your motion, make sure it’s not an #AI “phantom” At the beginning of a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy case in the Eastern District of Arkansas, debtor’s counsel filed a Motion ... (cont.) www.linkedin.com/posts/davidk... #lawsky #Law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Am I holding myself out as a lawyer by using “Esq.” in my email signature block? A VA lawyer was administratively suspended for noncompliance with the mandatory CLE requirements. During the suspension, he held himself out as authorized... (cont.) lnkd.in/eVauD-Ke #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If a criminal defendant tells his lawyer he’s going to harm the prosecutor, is that threat protected by the attorney client privilege? A DC lawyer representing a criminal defendant tried to withdraw after his client told him he owned ... (Cont.) lnkd.in/ew4gRK25 #lawsky #law

Morning alley play. #caturday #cats #catsofbluesky #tortie

Happy #Caturday from Derry Girl, who is on the front porch taunting the dogs being walked. #cats #catsofbluesky #tortie

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Is a Signal chat with my client’s PR agent protected by the Attorney Client privilege? A famous actor filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in SDNY against a group of studio execs. The execs through counsel hired a PR agency ...(cont.) www.linkedin.com/posts/davidk... #law #lawsky

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I supplement my prosecutor salary with cryptobro income? A year after being admitted to the bar, an IL prosecutor enthused about cryptocurrency started accepting money from friends & family to invest in bitcoin ... (cont.) lnkd.in/ecBxzpPt (Michael Perard) #law #lawsky

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Does the Court have to find you actually used hashtag#AI before sanctioning you for hallucinated cases? An IN attorney submitted a brief in support of a motion to compel that contained fake case citations. One of the ... (cont.) www.linkedin.com/posts/davidk... #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can the prosecutor accuse the defendant of tailoring his testimony based on what other witnesses said? A NJ defendant was accused of assaulting and robbing a sex worker with an illegal firearm. After the victim testified, the defendant took ... (cont.) lnkd.in/d3Jq3qXf #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I get an #AI program to carry out my unlawful discrimination for me? ABA Opinion 517 offers an (often convoluted) study of the extent to which unlawful discrimination in jury selection violates Rule 8.4(g) (discrimination on the basis of ... (cont.) lnkd.in/gM4VEXEC #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Should the ethics rules be applied with the same force in rural communities? A WV attorney neglected clients in and around rural Elkins County and then failed to respond to his client’s disciplinary complaints. The attorney argued that ... (cont.) lnkd.in/esAv_hDW #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: What rules do I violate if I call the opposing party fat? An AZ attorney represented a defendant in what appears to be a nasty dispute between members of a Home Owners Association. He started things off with a frivolous motion to change venue... (cont.) lnkd.in/eaSspY6M #law

Happy #Caturday from Derry Girl, who just learned that her toys work outside too. #Cats #CatsofBlueSky #Tortie

I was delighted to collaborate on this article about the 125-year history of Greater Boston Legal Services (@bostonlegalaid.bsky.social) My co-authors were Jacquelynne Bowman, Ana Cruz and Lauren Shryne. Thanks @bostonbar.bsky.social journal for publishing. bostonbar.org/journal/grea...

#LegalEthics Research: Can I trust my (Microsoft) copilot with legal research? A SC lawyer with 40-years experience in bankruptcy law and zero-years experience with #ArtificialIntelligence asked Microsoft Copilot to draft some pleadings for him. He was ... (cont.) lnkd.in/gfF63ka8 #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Do I have to tell my client who my other clients are if there is no conflict? An IL company found out that that a departing employee, who was in the process of starting a competing entity, had been in touch with the company’s outside... (cont.) lnkd.in/eJjSykrA #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: #AI hallucinations travel in packs so check the whole brief Firm A and Firm B were co-counsel to plaintiff in a CA civil litigation. Firm A used #ArtificialIntelligence for legal research and shipped it over to Firm B without telling ... (cont.) lnkd.in/eH95E6cZ #lawsky #law

#LegalEthcis Tidbit: How much information can a legal services lawyer share with non-legal shelter staff? A NY lawyer works at a nonprofit that runs a both an immigration legal clinic and also runs shelters for non-citizens. The lawyer asked the NY Bar ... (cont.) lnkd.in/egMQfz4V #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If I forgot to put the fee agreement in writing, can I just write one later and add the client’s signature by Photoshop? A CO lawyer verbally agreed to represent a client for $275/hour. After she was terminated, she dumped an unexpected... (cont.) lnkd.in/eMYi53Zk #lawsky #Law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Don’t seek special leave to submit #AI hallucinations to the Court In a dispute between a German company and a Chinese company that had been removed to federal court, the German company moved to remand the matter back to state court and... (cont.) lnkd.in/eis-gTh7 #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: When is a trip to Rikers Island better than a public censure? A NY lawyer represented clients incarcerated at Rikers Island in lawsuits against NYC. On 200 occasions, he offered to complete settlement paperwork for the clients, instead ... (cont.) lnkd.in/ePas3SXN #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I use Instagram to communicate with my clients? A TN attorney exchanged sexualized Instagram messages with a client during a representation, in violation of Rule 1.7 (conflict of interest). The messages also included a substantive ... (cont.) lnkd.in/eduqYaMe #lawsky #law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can a criminal defendant ask the victim to pay his lawyer? A Maine criminal defendant was accused of stealing from elderly person in his care, and his bail conditions included a no contact order with the victim. He hired a lawyer at an ... (cont.) lnkd.in/eiYtSUZQ #lawsky #law