Check a precedent bank for citations that do not match the current text
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- For each citation in the precedent, compare it with the current text in the firm's indexed official source and flag a difference in section number, date or operative words. Write no replacement clause.
- What the lawyer must review
- You decide whether the precedent is out of date and you write any change. Model Rule 1.1 requires competent representation, including the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary. Comment 8 says a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks of relevant technology. ABA Formal Opinion 512 says generative tools can produce plausible but false citations, and that a lawyer who relies on output without an appropriate degree of independent verification can breach Rule 1.1. The opinion's example of testing a tool on a smaller set, and then relying on it for the same task, is a way to set the level of review. It does not let a citation through that the indexed source does not contain. A citation with no indexed source is reported as unchecked, not as correct.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Potential support includes extracting and organising information and preparing preliminary structure or wording. Confirm the tool’s capability and permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Open each relied-on authority independently. Confirm its existence, current status, proposition and any quotation or pinpoint reference.
- Verify the applicable jurisdiction and the version of each relevant law, rule or instrument in force at the material time.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.