Virginia | Ropes & Gray LLP

Court - Judge Name	Effective Date	Applicable To	Categories	Summary
E.D. Va. – Magistrate Judge Lindsey R. Vaala	6/30/2025	Any AI	Any AI Usage	In Mwakalindile v. Truist Bank Corporation, Case No. 1:25-cv-00112, Dkt. No. 55 (E.D. Va. June 20, 2025), after both plaintiff and defendant filed briefs in which they mentioned “the potential use of artificial intelligence platforms and services,” Magistrate Judge Vaala ordered that any utilization of AI “for the preparation of any filing” requires the party using AI to both identify such use and provide certification “affirming that the party has reviewed all citations for accuracy.”
			Requires Disclosure and/or Verification
			Applies to AI Used for Filings/Drafting
E.D. Va. – Judge Robert E. Payne	6/2/2025	Generative AI	Generative AI Usage	In Powhatan Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Skinger, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104564 (E.D. Va. June 2, 2025), the pro se defendant repeatedly cited cases that did not exist in numerous filings and admitted to using Chat GPT in at least one of her filings. The court noted that while monetary sanctions would be appropriate for a practicing attorney or law firm, they would be ineffective in this case because the defendant was likely “judgment proof” given her financial standing. Instead, the court struck six of the defendant’s filings, including her answer, opposition to the plaintiff’s emergency motion for a preliminary injunction, and motion for reconsideration, but permitted the defendant to submit replacement filings that “contain no misrepresentations of cited authority.” The court addressed the increasing use of AI hallucinations within the Fourth Circuit and in other jurisdictions and reminded the parties that “pervasive misrepresentations . . . cannot be tolerated.”
			Applies to AI Used for Filings/Drafting
			Court-Imposed Consequences – Parties
W.D. Va. – Magistrate Judge Pamela Meade Sargent	3/25/2025	Generative AI	enerative AI Usage	In Kruglyak v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., No. 1:22-cv-00024-MFU-PMS, Dkt. No. 142 (Mar. 25, 2025), Magistrate Judge Sargent ordered the pro se plaintiff under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(c)(3) to “show cause why he should not be sanctioned” for citing false cases in his reply brief to the defendant’s response in opposition to the motion to compel. The plaintiff admitted his use of “fictitious cases and the mischaracterizations of case holdings” in his response to the show cause order and stated that, when filing the reply, he was unaware that “such generative AI platforms could produce fictitious or inaccurate case citations.” The court declined to impose sanctions on the plaintiff, as he since demonstrated his awareness of GenAI’s reliability limitations and has made sure to consult free legal databases to independently verify citations produced by GenAI. However, if the plaintiff ever fails to identify and verify GenAI-created citations in future filings, Judge Sargent noted that the plaintiff may be held in contempt of court and lose any right to proceed pro se.
			Requires Disclosure and/or Verification
			Suggests Cautious Use of AI
			Applies to AI Used for Filings/Drafting
EDVA – Judge Robert E. Payne	1/2/2025	Any AI	Any AI Usage	Judge Payne issued a Scheduling Order in Kromrey, et al. v. Capital One, N.A., et al. that addresses the “Use of Artificial Intelligence.” It requires that “[a]ll attorneys and pro se filers must file a certification with any brief or memorandum” certifying that no AI was used in the “research for the preparation” of the filing, making exceptions for AI “embedded in the standard on-line research sources Westlaw, Lexis, FastCase, and Bloomberg.” Filers must also certify that all statements and citations were verified by an attorney and/or paralegal for accuracy. This order is unique due to its specification of “research for the preparation of [a filing],” potentially implying that certification may not be not required where AI is used for non-research purposes in association with a filing. However, parties should still exercise caution to ensure full compliance with the Court’s order.
			Requires Disclosure and/or Verification
			Applies to AI Used for Research
			Applies to AI Used for Filings/Drafting
E.D. Va. --Judge Alston	10/7/2024	Any AI	Any AI Usage	Judge Alston issued a pre-trial order in Am. Immigration Council v. U.S. Dep’t of State, Docket No. 1:24cv1222, which includes a paragraph addressing the use of artificial intelligence. The instruction states: “[S]hould any party utilize artificial intelligence for the preparation of any filing, they must identify the use of artificial intelligence in the filing and provide a certification that they have reviewed all citations for accuracy.” The use of the phrase “preparation” (as opposed to “drafting”) could indicate disclosure and verification are required when any AI tools are used in any part of the preparatory process, including research.
			Requires Disclosure and/or Verification
			Applies to AI Used for Research
			Applies to AI Used for Filings/Drafting
E.D. Va. – Judge Hudson	2/9/2024	Any AI	Any AI Usage	Judge Hudson has been issuing pretrial orders, such as the one found in Kelly v. Altria Client Services, LLC et al, Docket No. 3:23-cv-00725, which include a paragraph addressing the “Use of Artificial Intelligence.” The instruction states: “Should any party utilize artificial intelligence for the preparation of any filing, they must identify the use of the artificial intelligence in the filing and provide a certification that they have reviewed all citations for accuracy.” The use of the phrase “preparation” (as opposed to “drafting”) could indicate disclosure and verification are required when any AI tools are used in any part of the preparatory process, including research.
			Requires Disclosure and/or Verification
			Applies to AI Used for Research
			Applies to AI Used for Filings/Drafting
E.D. Va. - Judge David J. Novak	1/29/2024	Any AI	Any AI Usage	Judge Novak has been issuing scheduling orders, such as the one found in Dialect, LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc., Case No. 1:23-cv-00581, Dkt. No. 147, which includes a paragraph addressing the “Use of Artificial Intelligence.” The instruction states: “Should any party utilize artificial intelligence for the preparation of any filing, they must identify the use of the artificial intelligence in the filing and provide a certification that they have reviewed all citations for accuracy.” The use of the phrase “preparation” (as opposed to “drafting”) could indicate disclosure and verification are required when any AI tools are used in any part of the preparatory process, including research.
			Requires Disclosure and/or Verification
			Applies to AI Used for Research
			Applies to AI Used for Filings/Drafting
E.D. Va. - Judge M. Hannah Lauck	1/26/2024	Any AI	Any AI Usage	Judge Lauck has been issuing pretrial orders, such as the one found in Beckford v. Elevance Health, Inc., Case No. 3:23-cv-00828, Dkt. No. 19, which include a paragraph addressing the “Use of Artificial Intelligence.” The instruction states: “Should any party utilize artificial intelligence for the preparation of any filing, they must identify the use of the artificial intelligence in the filing and provide a certification that they have reviewed all citations for accuracy.” The use of the phrase “preparation” (as opposed to “drafting”) could indicate disclosure and verification are required when any AI tools are used in any part of the preparatory process, including research.
			Requires Disclosure and/or Verification
			Applies to AI Used for Research
			Applies to AI Used for Filings/Drafting
E.D. Va. - Judge Roderick C. Young	1/10/2024	Any AI	Any AI Usage	Judge Young issued a Scheduling Order in Jcai v. Wiseleap Solutions, Case No. 3:23-cv-350, Dkt. No. 32, which includes a paragraph addressing the “Use of Artificial Intelligence.” The instruction states: “Should any party utilize artificial intelligence for the preparation of any filing, they must identify the use of the artificial intelligence in the filing and provide a certification that they have reviewed all citations for accuracy.” The use of the phrase “preparation” (as opposed to “drafting”) could indicate disclosure and verification are required when any AI tools are used in any part of the preparatory process, including research.
			Requires Disclosure and/or Verification
			Applies to AI Used for Research
			Applies to AI Used for Filings/Drafting