Using AI Tools for Legal Research

As AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini become easier to access and built into our regular internet use, people are more often using them to help with their legal needs. Proceed with caution!

The law is complicated and dealing with a legal issue can be frustratingly difficult. While AI tools may be able to help analyze documents and provide overviews, many studies have revealed troublesome aspects: hallucinating cases and statutes that don’t exist, and not fully understanding or interpreting texts. You don’t want to end up with a $10,000 fine for submitting AI-created documents to a court like this person.

What’s a self-represented litigant to do? If you’re going to use AI tools to help with your legal research, follow these guidelines and these guidelines to help keep you on the right side of the law. 

Law Library of Congress Online Classes

Did you know that the Library of Congress includes a branch specifically for legal research: The Law Library of Congress.

The Law Library of Congress provides authoritative legal research, reference and instruction services, and access to an unrivaled collection of U.S., foreign, comparative, and international law. The Law Library has a staff of experienced foreign and U.S. trained legal specialists and law librarians, and houses the world's largest collection of law books and other legal resources from all countries.

The Law Library of Congress also offers a wide variety of legal research classes to members of the public through the Legal Research Institute. Topics range from American legal research to foreign and comparative law, and include an Orientation to Legal Research series, which covers research strategies and resources related to federal statutes, U.S. case law, and federal regulations.

Need a New Year’s Resolution? Get Your Estate in Order

Law library staff frequently field questions on estate planning – either how to create a will or trust or how to handle probate. It’s something that everyone needs to think about and the earlier you get your affairs in order, the better.

Depending on your situation, creating an estate plan or going through probate can be very simple or very complicated. Deschutes Public Library has a variety of resources to help from primers to advanced texts and referrals to other organizations. Along with our books, we also offer services that can help including our Notary Public in the Library and Lawyer in the Library programs.

If you’re unsure where to start, give the law library a call at 541-617-7057 or email: lawlibrary@deschuteslibrary.org.