SHAME: Lawyer Relying on gen AI Has to Speak 10 Times About His Mistake–In Addition to Paying $7,000.00 in Fees to the Other Side, Apologizing to Clients and the Court (Awful)

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The Hon. Timothy Corrigan–Senior United States District Judge– just decided to make a very public example out of a Florida attorney ( Noah Storch of Celler Legal) that apparently used Gen AI to write briefs.

The attorney has been ordered to speak 10 times in the next year ” at bar associations or groups of law students to share his experience of improper reliance on unverified research and encourage others to avoid similar problems.”

Yikes.

In the court’s words:

“To the extent there’s a temptation, whether economic or otherwise, for lawyers to take the shortcut of relying on AI or the assistance of others without verification, the Court wants to be clear: It is not acceptable conduct; it will not be tolerated.”

It is obviously just INSANE lawyers continue to use so called “Legal tech” like Gen AI to assist with legal research and writing briefs.

Troutman Amin, LLP has taken a very public stance against the lazy corner cutting and RISKY behavior of using Gen AI in legal work. ZERO TOLERANCE for it here at Troutman Amin, LLP.

And the court’s are showing less and less tolerance as well.

In the recent case of Hodges v. Meridian Waste, Case 5:25-cv-00045 (M.D. Fl. Jan 16, 2026) the offending attorney not only has to speak 10 times publicly about his mistake–ouch!– but also had to pay Defendants $7,000.00 for fees associated with the mistakes made by the Gen AI, complete multiple CLE’s related to ethics and AI; arrange CLE for his law firm; alert the clients involved; and apologize to the Court and Defendants’ Counsel.

Humiliating.

But well deserved in my view.

You can read the full order here: Hodges Order

Anyone using Gen AI in the practice of law is looking to get disciplined and/or fired. And that includes inhouse counsel.

Be smart folks.

 

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Published by Eric "Czar" Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

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