Legal tech startup BrentWorks Inc. launched CiteSentinel, among the first dedicated platforms built specifically to detect and prevent AI hallucinations in legal citations.
The tool scans legal documents and flags case law, statutes, and legal authorities that may be fabricated, misstated, or otherwise erroneous, before they reach a judge.
Courts across the country are increasingly sanctioning attorneys who submit briefs containing invented case citations, a well-documented byproduct of generative AI drafting tools that produce authoritative sounding, but entirely fictional, legal authority. CiteSentinel was designed to close that verification gap, giving attorneys a fast and easy way to confirm that every citation in a filing corresponds to a real case, a real statute, and a real legal authority.
“The legal profession is learning, in very public ways, that AI doesn’t just make mistakes, it confidently lies to your face,” said BrentWorks co-founder Brent Britton. “CiteSentinel is about restoring trust. It lets lawyers move fast with the irresistible efficiencies of generative AI while still filing documents reciting authorities they can stand behind. It also enables them to scan opposing counsel’s documents, giving them a competitive edge in the courtroom.”
Many attorneys who do not personally use AI to draft documents are discovering they have a problem anyway. Opposing counsel may have used AI. Co-counsel may have. Contract attorneys and paralegals almost certainly have access to it and may be using it without disclosing that fact. When a brief containing fabricated citations reaches the court, the question of who drafted it quickly becomes secondary to the question of whose name is on it.
CiteSentinel lets attorneys scan any document – their own, a colleague’s, or an adversary’s – for citation errors before those errors become their problem. Attorneys who review opposing counsel’s filings with CiteSentinel gain an additional advantage: the ability to identify and challenge citations to authorities that simply do not exist.
Today, a lawyer’s supervisory obligation includes a question that would have seemed absurd just a few short years ago: Are the cases cited in this brief real or imaginary?
Senior lawyers cannot personally verify every citation in every document produced by everyone under their supervision. CiteSentinel can. At a cost that is modest compared to a single-sanctions proceeding or the reputational damage that comes with public embarrassment before a court, CiteSentinel is among the most cost-effective risk management tools available to any law firm, legal department, or solo practice today.
Unlike traditional research platforms that focus on finding more information, CiteSentinel focuses on confirming the law cited in a document is real. Attorneys can scan:
· Their own AI-assisted drafts, before filing
· Submissions from co-counsel, contract attorneys, and support staff
· Opposing counsel’s filings, for strategic advantage
· Any document where citation accuracy carries professional or ethical weight
Like a reality check for legal briefs, the tool flags citations that may be hallucinated, misstated, or inaccurately referenced, allowing lawyers to correct errors before courts, clients, or competitors discover them first.
Under mounting deadline pressure, many attorneys now rely on AI-generated research, but verification has not kept pace. CiteSentinel addresses that verification gap head-on, helping lawyers practice faster, more accurately, and with the confidence that their work reflects reality.
