O.C. lawyers suspended over AI errors in court briefs
Two Orange County immigration attorneys were fined and suspended by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The court found their briefs included fabricated cases, flawed quotations and inaccurate descriptions tied to generative AI.
Mike Singh Sethi and William Rounds of Sethi Law Group were fined $2,500 each and suspended from practicing before the 9th Circuit for six months. The court said the discipline was not for using AI alone, but for submitting false material and failing to be candid about how the errors happened.
The filings were part of an immigration case involving three family members from India. The court's earlier decision stopping their deportation remains unchanged, but the ruling warns lawyers to verify every citation and quickly disclose any AI generated mistakes in court papers.