O.C. immigration attorneys suspended for filing briefs filled with AI-hallucinated errors
Key takeaways
- A request for comment from the firm was not immediately answered.
- Three attorneys are facing discipline from the State Bar of California over allegations they used AI in court filings and cited nonexistent legal decisions.
- “However legal papers are prepared, and however legal technology develops, the court’s procedural and ethical rules apply with equal force,” the three-judge panel wrote.
The attorneys were fined $2,500 each and suspended from practicing in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for six months. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press) By Grace Toohey Staff Writer Follow June 4, 2026 2:18 PM PT 2 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
A pair of Orange County immigration attorneys received temporary suspensions after the court discovered they used generative AI to write briefs that included “multiple nonexistent cases, misattributed quotations, and gross misrepresentations.”
Attorneys Mike Singh Sethi and William Rounds, both part of Sethi Law Group in Orange County, were fined $2,500 each and suspended from practicing in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for six months, according to an opinion from the court issued Wednesday. A request for comment from the firm was not immediately answered.