Header: Justice S Mohan
Channel News Asia
The lead lawyer for a civil suit had roped in another solicitor to assist him, and this lawyer’s paralegal purportedly inserted the fictitious cases into draft submissions.
SINGAPORE: Two lawyers have been ordered to pay S$5,000 (US$3,900) each in personal costs for the misuse of artificial intelligence, after two fictitious cases were cited in closing submissions for a civil case.
The lead lawyer for the defendants had brought in another solicitor to assist in the research and drafting of the submissions. The second lawyer, in turn, said the initial research and drafting were done by a paralegal who has since left his firm and said he was unaware if any AI tools had been used.
The two lawyers offered to jointly bear personal costs of S$1,500, but the judge found that this sum was “plainly inadequate” and ordered each man to pay S$5,000 instead for a total of S$10,000.
According to a judgment released on Friday (Mar 6), the case involves the executors of the estate of a man named Tan Thuan Teck, who launched suits to recover sums lent to the late Mr Tan’s four brothers and their company.
The lawyer for the defendants, Mr Goh Peck San, was found to have cited two fictitious authorities in closing submissions. The two cases were discovered by lawyers for the claimants and highlighted in their reply submissions.
Justice S Mohan, who found that the claimants had made out their case, focused his judgment on the AI issue. He said generative AI is reshaping the legal profession in a manner that can be fairly described as “nothing less than a sea change”.
“While the technological advances that (generative) AI has engendered are not in themselves unwelcome, its integration into legal practice demands a commensurate evolution in professional responsibility. The very standards and ethical foundations of the profession depend on it,” he said.
“The responsibility that lies on the shoulders of every advocate and solicitor utilising Gen AI has been repeatedly underscored in both the professional guidelines governing legal practice, and in judicial authorities. It is again re-emphasised in this judgment.”
WHAT HAPPENED
The lawyer for the defendants, Mr Goh, engaged another solicitor, Mr Amarjit Singh Sidhu, to assist him in carrying out the research and drafting of the closing submissions.
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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/lawyers-personal-costs-5000-ai-fictitious-cases-5976126
