Artificial intelligence has quietly entered the South African legal profession, promising speed and efficiency, but not without the occasional embarrassing oversight moment. AI can now research case law faster than a candidate attorney fuelled by Red Bull, draft documents in minutes, and automate pleadings that would otherwise take hours.
However, when used carelessly, it has also produced some memorable mishaps. There have been instances where legal practitioners submitted pleadings containing foreign case citations from the United States or the United Kingdom, confidently arguing principles that have never existed in South African law. In one particularly awkward example, AI-generated documents referred to “Your Honour, the Federal Court of Appeal,” leaving the magistrate wondering which country the attorney thought they were practising in.
AI has also been known to make up cases entirely, complete with convincing citations that sound legitimate until a judge asks counsel to hand up the judgment and there is suddenly a great deal of shuffling at the bar. In Parker v Forsyth NNO and Others (2023) the court reprimanded legal representatives for submitting fabricated authorities generated by ChatGPT without verification, emphasising that responsibility for accuracy remains with practitioners.
The risks are not limited to legal practitioners. Lay Litigants themselves have begun relying on AI-generated advice, sometimes ignoring the guidance of their attorneys. In one matter, a divorcing spouse insisted on filing an application based on “precedent” provided by an AI tool, only to discover that the supposed case law came from Canadian family courts and had no relevance in South Africa. In another example, a small business owner disregarded his attorney’s advice on drafting employment contracts, preferring an AI-generated template. The contracts omitted mandatory provisions required under the Labour Relations Act, exposing the company to costly disputes at the CCMA.
These moments serve as a humorous reminder that while AI is an excellent assistant, it is not admitted as an attorney, is not enrolled with the LPC, and cannot be blamed when things go wrong. Ultimately, AI works best in South African legal practice when it is supervised by a human who actually knows the Rules of Court and case law.
Think of AI as a guide, not a decision-maker: for real, case-specific legal advice, always consult a qualified attorney. As ChatGPT itself warns: “Check important info.”
