---
title: "Check each authority in a submission before it is signed"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/verify-every-authority-in-submissions-before-filing/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A5-B8-2-US"
practice_area: "Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution"
tier: "red"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Check each authority in a submission before it is signed

> Extract every case, statute, and rule citation from the submission, with the page, and leave a column for the lawyer to record the official text that was opened. Do not mark a citation as correct and do not add a case.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/verify-every-authority-in-submissions-before-filing/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution](https://ailawframework.com/practice/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution.md) |
| Human involvement | Red: Lawyer writes; AI may check, clarify or collect data |
| How AI is used | Extract every case, statute, and rule citation from the submission, with the page, and leave a column for the lawyer to record the official text that was opened. Do not mark a citation as correct and do not add a case. |
| What the lawyer must review | Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b) provides that an attorney who presents a pleading, written motion, or other paper to the court, by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating it, certifies that to the best of the person's knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances, the legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law. That certification is made when the submission is presented. ABA Formal Opinion 512 (29 July 2024) requires the lawyer to check output from a generative tool, including citations. The lawyer opens the reporter, the official code, or the court rule for each citation and fills the result. The worksheet does not do that check. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Verify every authority in submissions before filing](https://ailawframework.com/practice/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/verify-every-authority-in-submissions-before-filing.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Extract every case, statute, and rule citation from the submission, with the page, and leave a column for the lawyer to record the official text that was opened. Do not mark a citation as correct and do not add a case.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- This worksheet is for the submission that is about to be signed. It is not a finding that any citation exists.
- Rule 11(d) leaves discovery requests, responses, objections, and motions to Rules 26 through 37. Use those rules for a discovery paper.

## Sources

- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 (representations to the court)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_11) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Generative-AI filing certification worksheet](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/commercial-litigation-and-dispute-resolution/us-generative-ai-filing-certification.md) | Checklist | Red | Worksheet for the lawyer who must certify a federal filing under Rule 11 and under the assigned judge's standing order on generative AI. The lawyer writes the certificate that is filed. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*