A New Brunswick lawyer could face disciplinary action after allegedly using generative AI improperly to write a legal brief, and it is sparking conversations about the use of AI in the profession.
The Law Society of New Brunswick alleged that in April 2025, Denis Sawyer submitted a brief in which 10 of 12 citations were fictitious.
“When Mr. Sawyer was informed of this, he filed a subsequent brief, in which he removed almost all fictitious citations except for two,” a public notice states.
Sawyer filed a response in July stating he admitted to the contents of the notice and that accepts “full responsibility for my oversight.”
But as the matter is set for a hearing next month, legal experts say the issue is not if lawyers are using AI, but rather how they are using it.
“Using AI is not unethical in itself. What is unethical is using AI incompetently,” Norman Siebrasse, a professor in the faculty of law at the University of New Brunswick, told Global News.
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Siebrasse said specialized AI tools are already being used to review documents, analyze contracts and improve efficiency.
“AI really does have the potential to improve legal practice and make legal advice more affordable and better,” he said.
But others say those benefits can only occur if lawyers do their due diligence to ensure the accuracy of the information.
“When a lawyer is submitting material to court, the buck stops with that lawyer, whether or not they receive help from a human or a technology tool,” Amy Salyzyn, a professor in the faculty of law at the University of Ottawa, said.
But errors are becoming more common.
Seven decisions involving AI-fabricated legal materials were recorded by Canadian courts and tribunals in 2024, according to data from Courtyready, a justice watchdog. By 2025, that number had risen to 87 decisions. By the end of the first half of 2026, 74 such cases had been documented.
Karen Etis, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, told Global News that the risks of using AI in law go beyond citing incorrect information. She said another concern is how these learning models can set precedents.
“You’re destroying the reliability of precedent,” she said. “Because it’s possible to set a case that someone else will then cite and someone else will then build on that and it is no longer reliable.”
Etis also expressed concerns about with how AI can change the way lawyers handle confidential client information.
“These things are free because they train on your data,” she said.
Law schools are already preparing to teach the next generation of lawyers how to use AI responsibly as the technology becomes increasingly prevalent in legal practice.
Siebrasse, from the University of New Brunswick, said proper education can help future lawyers use these tools to their benefit.
“We are taking steps to prepare our students for AI-assisted practice and also to integrate AI into our pedagogy,” he said.
Sawyer’s disciplinary matter will be heard next month.
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