New York — Janelle Melissa Lewis: an actual interim license suspension
This is another particularly significant case. Janelle Melissa Lewis — New York Lewis was hired through an online freelance-lawyer platform by a Texas immigration attorney to prepare a response to an order to show…
This is another particularly significant case.
Janelle Melissa Lewis — New York
Lewis was hired through an online freelance-lawyer platform by a Texas immigration attorney to prepare a response to an order to show cause in federal court in New Mexico.
Her draft contained numerous nonexistent cases attributed by the court to ChatGPT or a similar AI system.
The hiring attorney subsequently reported the matter to New York disciplinary authorities.
The really important part is what happened next.
Lewis failed to appear for an examination under oath and failed to comply with investigative demands from the Attorney Grievance Committee.
The New York Appellate Division, First Department therefore imposed an interim suspension from practicing law in New York.
Critical qualification
I would not describe this as "New York disbarred/suspended Lewis because she used AI."
The suspension was imposed because of her failure to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation, which arose from the AI-generated-citation matter.
That's an important distinction.