In a case described as a “public admonishment” for the international firm, Pinsent Masons and three of its solicitors have been referred to the SRA following a series of AI-driven failures that twice misled the court.
Like the recently reported Sullivan & Cromwell ‘hallucinati0n’ disaster.
The Failure: AI “Hallucinations” in Court
The incident occurred during the case of Cork & Anor v Smith in the Insolvency and Companies Court (ICC). ICC Judge Mullen concluded that the firm had misled the court on two separate occasions:
- Fake Citations: The firm provided legal references that featured AI-generated “hallucinations”—entirely fictitious case citations.
- Botched Explanation: After the initial error was flagged, the firm used AI again to draft an explanatory letter to the court. That letter was also found to be inaccurate and “muddied the waters.”
The “Cavalier” Approach to Supervision
The judge’s findings focused on a junior lawyer (referred to in court as “LA”) who reportedly “almost entirely outsourced the thinking process” to an AI program. Discussions between LA and the AI bot showed the technology was “plainly wrong” and “extremely misleading” almost immediately.
Judge Mullen also criticized the lack of oversight from senior lawyers.
Solicitor Samantha Poulton and partner Steven Cottee were found to have failed in their duty to supervise the junior associate. While Poulton was aware the junior used AI occasionally, she did not know it was used for this specific application and admitted to a failure in checking drafts.
A Warning to the Profession
The court’s response was scathing, with Judge Mullen noting a “cavalier attitude” toward accuracy. He emphasized that while AI can be a “jumping off point,” it cannot replace the “need for proper research and thought” by legal professionals.
The Firm’s Response
Pinsent Masons has apologized unreservedly for the “professional shame” brought by the incident. The firm has:
- Self-referred itself and the involved solicitors to the SRA.
- Settled costs for the former client, including the expense of hiring new legal representation.
- Implemented safeguards on its internal AI pilot program.
The SRA will now investigate whether the lawyers involved breached the professional code of conduct.
