Artificial intelligence is becoming more common in the day to day practice of law, but its use in court filings and submissions carries real risks. The court has made it clear that maintaining the integrity of the justice system is a shared responsibility for everyone involved in family law proceedings. Lawyers, Family Legal Service Providers, and self represented litigants must ensure that all materials filed with the court are accurate and reliable, including any content created with the assistance of AI tools.
The most serious issue arises from AI generated hallucinations. These include non existent cases, incorrect summaries of real decisions, and fabricated quotations. When these errors make their way into affidavits, factums, or books of authorities, they mislead the court and undermine the administration of justice. The court has stated that it will not tolerate inadvertence. If AI is used at any stage, the person filing the material is responsible for verifying the accuracy of all legal authorities and ensuring compliance with established practice directions.
Professional Responsibilities for Counsel and Family Legal Service Providers
Lawyers and FLSPs must ensure that their use of AI complies with the Law Society of Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct and the Paralegal Rules of Conduct. The LSO Futures Committee’s 2024 White Paper provides guidance on how these professional obligations apply when AI is used in the delivery of legal services. Accuracy, competence, confidentiality, and supervision obligations all remain fully in force.
Verification Requirements for Counsel, FLSPs, and Litigants
Anyone preparing court materials must independently confirm that all cases and citations generated with the assistance of AI are accurate. This includes checking every authority against trusted legal databases and ensuring that quotations and summaries reflect the actual text of the decision.
The Consolidated Provincial Practice Direction for Family Proceedings imposes several important requirements that apply to all parties:
• Factums and summaries of argument must hyperlink all authorities to a publicly available free website such as CanLII when possible
• Each citation must include a paragraph reference and a hyperlink to the specific paragraph
• Electronic books of authorities must link publicly available decisions from the table of contents and include full copies of decisions that are not freely accessible online, such as unreported judgments or decisions accessible only through subscription databases. The table of contents must include internal hyperlinks to each case or excerpt
These requirements ensure transparency and allow the court to quickly confirm that the authorities relied upon are real, accurate, and properly referenced.
Consequences for Misuse of Artificial Intelligence
The court has broad authority to respond when counsel, FLSPs, or litigants fail to meet their obligations, including when inaccurate AI generated material is submitted. Available remedies include public reprimands, costs awards, fines, adjournments, dismissal of motions or cases, contempt proceedings, and referrals to the Law Society of Ontario for professional discipline.
The court’s response will depend on the specific facts of each matter, but the message is unequivocal. Anyone using AI for court work must exercise informed, careful, and ongoing oversight. The responsibility for accuracy cannot be delegated to the technology.
