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C a u t i on ar y T a l e s o f A I
Cautionary Tales of AI
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Use in Legal Research
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Strategies for Minimizing Risks
By Vailferree Brechtel, Esq., PS
Many surveyors love new tools and technologies, and artificial
intelligence (AI) is one new technology that is being embraced
by the profession. AI has been integrated into many facets of
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surveying, including hardware and software workflows of
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GNSS and sUAS. Surveyors may now also use AI to read deeds
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and produce legal descriptions and have even used it to research
legal precedent. 4
However, the use of AI to perform legal research poses real risks
to surveyors who use it without safeguards in place. In this
article, I first offer perspective on the risk of fabrications when
AI is used to research the law or in the course of subject matter
expert testimony. I then offer strategies for minimizing risk if AI
is used in these ways.
Cautionary Tales: Attorneys and Expert
Witnesses Both Fall Prey to AI Fabrications
One major concern about the use of AI in the context of legal
research is that AI may fabricate information. In one instance,
when I asked a popular large language model AI chatbot for
a case summary, it fabricated the entire content of the case,
from the nature of the dispute to the disposition of the case. I
asked it to revise its answer twice more and it provided me with
more fabricated answers. Eventually, it told me that it couldn’t
summarize the case because it didn’t have access to legal research
databases. In another instance, while the case summary was
correct in general terms, it provided the incorrect location of
the real property that was the subject of the lawsuit. A small but
important detail when litigating boundary issues.
These AI fabrications are not isolated to my experience. As
the use of AI has become more common, attorneys from
jurisdictions throughout the country have been disqualified,
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fined, or sanctioned for using made-up citations or information
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generated by AI.
Perhaps more pertinent to many surveyors is that even subject
matter experts retained for litigation can fall prey to AI
fabrications. Experts’ reports and testimony have been struck
or withdrawn for containing AI-fabricated information, such as
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false quotations, made-up journals, or fictitious citations. 10
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The overarching lesson from these cautionary tales is that AI
may make up information to the detriment of the user. When
this occurs in the context of litigation, the stakes can be high. As
such, surveyors should exercise caution if using AI and employ
safeguards to minimize the risks.
Strategies for Surveyors to Minimize the
Risk Associated with the Use of AI
Surveyors desire to make defensible judgments based on good
data and the most correct law. As such, you can employ the

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EMPIRE STATE SURVEYOR / VOL. 62 • NO 3 / 2026 • MAY/JUNE 21