Sullivan & Cromwell Apologizes for AI Hallucinations in Court Filing with 40 Erroneous Citations

Gate News message, April 23 — Sullivan & Cromwell, a major Wall Street law firm, apologized to a federal judge after submitting a court filing containing approximately 40 incorrect citations and other errors caused by AI hallucinations. Andrew Dietderich, co-head of the firm's global restructuring team, wrote to Chief Judge Martin Glenn of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday, stating "We deeply regret that this has occurred" and taking responsibility for the failure to ensure accuracy.

According to a database managed by legal technologist Damien Charlotin, there have been 1,334 recorded incidents of AI hallucinations in court filings worldwide, with more than 900 occurring in the US. Most of these hallucinations involve fabricated citations, though AI-generated legal arguments have also been identified in some cases.

Dietderich noted that Sullivan & Cromwell has policies in place for AI tool usage, including citation review processes, but these policies were not followed in this instance. He stated: "Regrettably, this review process did not identify the inaccurate citations generated by AI, nor did it identify other errors that appear to have resulted in whole or in part from manual error." The firm is conducting an internal investigation and evaluating enhancements to its training and review processes.

The errors were discovered by rival law firm Boies Schiller Flexner. Sullivan & Cromwell, ranked 30th on the AmLaw Global 200, previously represented crypto exchange FTX in its bankruptcy case.