Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Kitchen & Dining Tech Style & Beauty Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Amazon Prime Day Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNewsCanadaOntario law society suspends lawyer for using AI generated material in hearingThe decision marks the first time a Canadian law society has gone beyond a reprimand to actually suspend a lawyer’s licence for abusing AI in court submissions You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Osgoode Hall in Toronto in home to the Law Society of Ontario. Photo by Peter J. Thompson/National Post/FileOntario’s legal regulator has suspended a lawyer for six months after a judge busted her in open court for using AI hallucinated material in a hearing about family and estate law.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThe decision by the discipline tribunal of the Law Society of Ontario marks the first time a Canadian law society has gone beyond a reprimand to actually suspend a lawyer’s licence for abusing artificial intelligence in court submissions, according to Tom Macintosh Zheng, a Toronto lawyer who tracks the issue.It is a growing problem that remains as murky and controversial in the lawyer discipline context as it is in more substantial matters of what AI misuse does to their cases.Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe tribunal ordered Mary Hyun-Sook Lee, who does business as Jisuh Lee, to comply with a set of remedial guidelines while her licence is suspended, and to pay costs of $10,000. It found she committed professional misconduct when she “failed to serve her client by relying upon a factum containing only non-existent or irrelevant case law generated by an artificial intelligence tool,” and that she “deliberately misled a court” about it.The suspension follows an awkward scene in Ontario Superior Court last year when Lee, appearing before Judge Fred Myers to argue a motion from her own factum in a case about a dead man’s estate, provided a mess of what Judge Myers correctly identified as AI hallucinated precedents and farcical misreadings of real cases.When the judge asked to see a copy of these cases, Lee was unable to give him one from her papers, so the judge looked them up online himself, sometimes finding they did not seem to exist in any legal database, or were irrelevant, or did not show what Lee argued. Lee’s factum, for example, cited a case as a precedent for when a court removed an estate trustee. “In fact, the opposite is true. The court did not remove the estate trustees,” Judge Myers wrote, after reading it.The judge asked her bluntly if this was an AI job. According to the judge’s written reasons that ordered Lee to explain herself or be held in contempt, she replied that her office “does not usually do so but that she would have to check with her clerk.”“It should go without saying that it is the lawyer’s duty to read cases before submitting them to a court as precedential authorities. At its barest minimum, it is the lawyer’s duty not to submit case authorities that do not exist or that stand for the opposite of the lawyer’s submission,” the judge wrote.That matter of civil contempt remains outstanding, with an amicus curiae, an independent lawyer that can advise the court, appointed “due to procedural uncertainty associated principally with Ms. Lee’s failure to retain counsel,” according to a recent ruling.Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.