Pro se employment lawsuits are surging – and generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is quietly reshaping what those cases look like, how long they last, and how expensive they are to defend. Gone are the days of nonsensical handwritten pleadings; pro se plaintiffs are now arriving with polished filings and relentless motion practice. Although employers continue to prevail overwhelmingly on the merits, AI has changed the economics of defense.
The future should be hybrid. Legal services should be AI-powered and attorney-supervised. This model is commercially durable because it combines AI’s speed with the accountability, contextual knowledge and licensed judgment that only a human lawyer can provide.
The Queensland Courts released guidance in 2025 on the responsible use of generative AI, specifically for “non-lawyers”, warning that chatbots should not be relied on as the sole or main source of legal information.
It also warned that cost orders could be made against people who relied on non-existent or fake citations, or inaccurate, AI-generated information, in court.
The Tenth Circuit proposal would expressly allow judges to strike a filing, treat an affected issue as waived, impose monetary sanctions, order payment of expenses and attorney fees, begin disciplinary proceedings or, in some circumstances, dismiss or affirm an appeal.
Couples may turn to artificial intelligence to draft separation and divorce documents, in an effort to save on legal costs. That decision could backfire.
Nine authorities put before the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) by a litigant in person challenging a penalty from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) were fakes generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) system like ChatGPT, a judge has ruled.
Florida court orders lawyer to explain 'gibberish' in filings. Judges say filings cited no fake cases but lacked professional judgment. Lawyer has 10 days to respond to possible sanctions.
Employers are stuck in a system being gamed by tools that produce plausible-sounding nonsense and a legal framework that offers almost no disincentive.
A self-represented taxpayer has faced sharp rebuke for citing phantom cases, twisting established tax law, and leaning on irrelevant precedents in a high-stakes dispute with the ATO.
Australia’s Fair Work Commission announced a review of its processes to cope with an influx of cases being lodged with the help of generative AI assistance tools, which it said has contributed to an estimated 70% workload increase over a three-year period.
Nearly 1,100 legal filings in the U.S. over the past year had false citations, misrepresented legal doctrines and misquoted sources because of errors generated by an artificial intelligence tool, according to an international database.
The ‘people’s courts’ set up in the 1960s are becoming clogged by claimants using chatbots to articulate cases for them based on new employee rights laws
Researchers say generative AI is making it dramatically easier for people to file lawsuits, even as legal professionals are getting caught submitting hallucinated cases.
Tenants using artificial intelligence to help them make applications to the Tenancy Tribunal are creating extra work and backlog, one property manager says.
The complaint Donald Sauve submitted in Minnesota last year was a familiar type in the nation's federal courts.
In legal parlance, Sauve filed "pro se," Latin for "for oneself," meaning he had no lawyer as he sued his ex-wife, her lawyer and a state judge who had rejected one of his earlier legal challenges as "frivolous."
In a handwritten scrawl, he previously filed a suit asking for $275,000 in damages, claiming he had been unlawfully deprived of his home. It took less than a month for Judge Jerry W. Blackwell to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction.
The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal dismissed a self-represented litigant’s challenge of a parenting time and child support order this week after he blamed an AI tool for multiple misrepresentations he made to the court.
Nine out of 10 civil lawsuits in South Korea now proceed with at least one party without legal representation, in so-called "solo litigation." Analysts say the proliferation of the electronic filing system, combined with growing use of artificial intelligence to draft complaints and briefs, has significantly lowered the barrier to filing lawsuits for ordinary citizens.
When Lynn White fell behind on rent at her Long Beach trailer park and faced eviction, she fought the case in court with help from a local tenant advocacy attorney — and lost. Determined to appeal, she decided to try something unconventional.
She turned to artificial intelligence.
There’s a new twist on the old saying that people who represent themselves in court have fools for clients.
Today, more consumers, and even some lawyers, are using artificial intelligence in their legal battles, especially in insurance disputes. Plaintiffs are using AI tools to write complaints, appeal denied claims, and even argue motions in court, often to save on hiring a lawyer.
“Self-represented litigants using AI are starting to show up in insurance cases, mostly in smaller coverage disputes and claim denials,” Joseph Raetzer, an attorney and legal content reviewer at LawDistrict, told Insurify.
AI-assisted court filings look credible, with clean formatting and a professional tone, but lawyers say the content is often lacking.
“The filings look clean,” Raetzer said. “Then you read the substance, and it’s clear the person doesn’t actually understand the policy or the rules they’re arguing under.”
In a recent decision, the Quebec Superior Court (“Court”) addressed the growing issue of using artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools, particularly generative AI, in court filings. The case involved Mr. Jean Laprade, a 74-year-old self-represented litigant (“Defendant”), who opposed a motion filed by Specter Aviation Limited and TPVX Aircraft Solutions Inc. (“Plaintiffs”) seeking to ratify a 2021 decision rendered by the Chambre arbitrale internationale de Paris (“CAIP”) involving the same parties.
In the past, if a client who usually preferred to communicate via short emails suddenly sent a lengthy message akin to a legal memo, Ron Shulman would suspect they'd received help from a family member or partner.
Now, the Toronto family lawyer asks clients if they've used artificial intelligence. And most of the time, he says, the answer is yes.
AI and digital tools are transforming access to justice for self-represented litigants, shifting the challenge from lack of legal help to questions of accuracy, governance, and effective support
The technology is changing so rapidly, and more and more self-represented litigants are taking shortcuts, says said Richard Wagner, chief justice of Canada.
Courts are exploring how AI might aid self-represented litigants and are providing guidance without endorsing specific tools, an approach that acknowledges AI's potential benefits as well as its limitations in the legal system
When you don’t have the money for a lawyer to represent you in a court case, even judges can understand the temptation to get free help from anywhere – including tapping into generative artificial intelligence (AI).
A troubling new trend is emerging across Canadian’s legal system as courts and tribunals confront a growing number of cases involving fake legal citations generated by artificial intelligence.
As the cost of legal services continue to rise, it’s likely that the number of individuals who can neither afford a lawyer nor qualify for legal aid will continue to grow as well.
Law360 Canada (July 14, 2025, 5:32 PM EDT) -- In another sign of AI’s growing impact on the law, the Federal Court has ordered that a self-represented respondent’s motion record be removed from a court file because it relied in part on a non-existent court decision hallucinated by an artificial intelligence (AI) research tool.
Senior lawyers, including a former Fair Work vice president, have backed self-represented litigants using artificial intelligence to run their cases after a landmark victory by the technology in the workplace tribunal, saying the justice system should not be there to protect lawyers.
A sacked ALDI employee condemned by the Fair Work Commission for using "plain wrong" artificial intelligence (AI) advice in his failed bid to reverse his dismissal says he now plans to use "two or three" different AI agents to help him appeal against the decision.
Las Vegas resident Nicole Silverberg says she called 20 lawyers in hopes of finding one willing to sue her former landlord on a contingency basis because she couldn't afford to pay legal fees upfront. When none agreed, she turned to artificial intelligence.
A recent decision by the New Zealand Supreme Court in Jones v Family Court at Whangārei [2026] NZSC 1 serves as a timely reminder about the limitations and risks attached to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in legal proceedings.
For decades, legal information providers have offered copies of standard contracts, powers of attorney, and other blank legal documents for everyday needs. But as helpful as they can be, no provider can claim to offer legal advice to any one customer who uses their forms.
A new pop-up notice on Florida’s E-Filing Portal is reminding litigants of a requirement to certify the accuracy of filings under a recently amended statewide procedural rule.
