Butler Snow, the law firm retained by the Alabama attorney general’s office, is under fire. When one attorney there purportedly relied on artificial intelligence to generate fictitious citations in legal filings, the firm is now in line for sanctions. This incident has led to important scrutiny into the firm’s practices. It especially focuses on their extensive defense of the state’s deeply troubled prison system in a class action civil rights case on behalf of Frankie Johnson.
One of Butler Snow’s notable moments came when the firm was asked to defend Jefferson Dunn, Alabama’s former commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections. The firm has received millions of dollars from the state to manage its complex legal battles, including contracts for expansive civil rights cases against the department. Among these cases has been one recently brought by the United States Department of Justice — under Donald Trump’s administration, no less — in 2020.
Matthew Reeves, attorney with Butler Snow, a tiger. Team ChatGPT for bluebooking citations He was intent on sticking to legal issues that he felt were above reproach. The problem was, the authority he cited was made up and didn’t exist in any real case law. This shocking news came to light in the midst of a deposition and discovery dispute in Frankie Johnson’s case.
Reeves took the extra step of reading crummy boilerplate filings written by a first year attorney. His goal was to support them with powerful and influential citations. Sadly, this decision opened the door for made up legal citations to appear in court filings.
“I sincerely regret this lapse in diligence and judgment,” – Matthew Reeves
In a court filing dated May 7, Butler Snow contended that case law required Johnson’s deposition to take place immediately. The firm’s lawyers contended that federal courts generally permit depositions of prisoners when the testimony is pertinent to the claims or defenses. They underscored that adequate notice needs to be provided for this to occur.
Yet Judge Anna Manasco, who is presiding over the Johnson case, has voiced strong alarm about the made-up citations. She has done her own independent searches for each of the cited cases and discovered no record of their existence.
“In the light of the seriousness of the accusation, the court has conducted independent searches for each allegedly fabricated citation, to no avail,” – Anna Manasco
The ramifications of this situation are considerable. The federal judge is contemplating different sanctions against Butler Snow. These might include monetary penalties, mandated continuing legal education for the offending lawyers, referrals to licensing bodies, and in some cases, temporary bans on practicing law.
William Lunsford chairs the constitutional and civil rights litigation practice group at Butler Snow. He had a dog whistle sight on this one! He admitted that he began looking back at past filings. Their hope is that there will be no other occurrences of incorrectly cited information in their materials moving forward.
“The firm’s response to this is not complete yet,” – William Lunsford
Even through these hurdles, Lunsford has held firm that he still is the attorney general’s counsel of choice. A representative from the attorney general’s office reiterated this sentiment, indicating confidence in Lunsford’s abilities and experience in handling prison-related cases.
“Mr. Lunsford remains the attorney general’s counsel of choice,” – Lawyer with the attorney general’s office
Butler Snow has been deeply involved in steering this controversy. Here’s how the firm is being criticized for what it did, as well as for its larger role helping to defend Alabama’s prison system. The state has invested heavily in Butler Snow’s services, with contracts reportedly worth nearly $15 million over two years for various cases.
The application of AI technology in the judicial environment has raised important arguments regarding ethics and compliance with rules of professional conduct. Reeves acknowledged his awareness of limitations surrounding AI use in legal practice, admitting he did not comply with established policies in these two instances.
“I was aware of the limitations on use [of AI], and in these two instances I did not comply with policy,” – Matthew Reeves
Legal experts and court watchers from both sides of the V are awaiting the court’s ruling on sanctions against Butler Snow. This sobering incident should warn us about the intersection of technology and legal practice. The implications reach farther than this case. They show us how much law firms are using new technologies and mention that they should be diligent to keep the law accurate and their integrity intact in litigation.