Other people's AI errors, so they do not become yours
Each entry is an error AI tools make in legal work, rewritten on invented facts, with the check that catches it. Read them privately, before a mistake reaches the business.
Seen an AI error worth sharing? Submit a mistake, rewritten on invented facts. Credit by name or stay anonymous, your choice.
All documents and facts on this page are invented. This is legal information, not legal advice; review every output before relying on it.
MISTAKE 01
A cap summarized without its carve-outs
What happened. An AI summary of a services agreement said liability was "capped at fees paid in the prior year". The clause excluded confidentiality breaches and data protection claims from the cap, so the largest risks in the deal sat outside it.
How to catch it. Read the exceptions clause yourself and list every carve-out next to the summary. Ask the model directly: "List every exception to the cap, quoting the text."
What happened. Asked for authority supporting the enforceability of a clickwrap agreement, an AI tool produced a case name, court and year that looked real. No such case exists.
How to catch it. Never cite a case, statute or regulation you have not opened in a primary source. Treat any citation from a general AI tool as a lead to verify, not an answer.
What happened. An agreement defined "Affiliate" to include only entities under more than fifty percent common control. The AI summary of a non-solicitation clause treated a minority-owned joint venture as covered.
How to catch it. Paste the definitions section with the clause you ask about, and ask the model to apply each capitalized term as defined. Check every capitalized term in the output against its definition.
What happened. An AI review of a distribution agreement said a non-compete was "likely unenforceable" under California law. The agreement was governed by Texas law, which the excerpt sent to the model did not include.
How to catch it. Always give the model the governing law clause, and ask it to say which law its answer assumes. If the answer depends on local law, check that law yourself.
What happened. A summary listed a subscription's renewal date but not the notice period, which required notice sixty days before the end of the term, by courier. The window passed and the contract renewed for another year.
How to catch it. Ask for the notice deadline as a date, with the calculation shown, and for every method of notice the contract requires. Diary the deadline with a reminder well before it.
Seen an AI error worth sharing? Rewrite it on invented facts, with no client, matter or personal information, and send it to [email protected]. Tell us the name you would like credited, or say you prefer to stay anonymous. Submissions are covered by the contributor terms in our Terms of Use and Sale, and we may edit or decline any entry.
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