NACTT Trustees Urge Uniform Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence in Consumer Bankruptcy Practices
24 Julio 2024 - 11:57AM
Business Wire
The National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT) is
calling for uniform guidelines for utilizing Artificial
Intelligence in Consumer Bankruptcy. The association recently
examined Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Access to Justice during
their annual Bankruptcy Roundtable in Boston in July 2024.
“As technology, including Artificial Intelligence, is being
developed and adopted at a stunningly rapid speed, the judiciary is
challenged with protecting all parties involved in bankruptcy.
Debtors, creditors, attorneys, judges and trustees across the
United States need to function with uniform guidance in order to
continue the equitable administration of bankruptcy across the
country,” said Lon Jenkins, NACTT President.
The consensus among the Bankruptcy Roundtable panelists was that
there are many inherent risks to the debtor, legal counsel,
creditors and even technology providers when using artificial
intelligence in consumer bankruptcy. Specifically, the group of
esteemed panelists raised concerns about privacy issues in consumer
bankruptcy and a need for uniform guidelines for the use of the
evolving technology. The full scope of the risks associated with
its use is still unknown.
Particularly at risk are pro se debtors who use generative AI
tools to prepare legal documents which are often incorrect. Use of
AI to produce court documents increases the risk for a potential
breach of confidentiality by allowing access to personal
information such as mortgage histories and financial schedules.
During its Roundtable, the NACTT panel discussed discrepancies
arising between jurisdictions. The panelists cited the standing
order that was recently signed by the US District Court for the
Western District of North Carolina that requires filers to certify
that AI was not used. The order states that “no artificial
intelligence was employed in doing the research for the preparation
of this document, with the exception of such artificial
intelligence embedded in the standard on-line legal research
sources Westlaw, Lexis, FastCase, and Bloomberg." The panelists
discussed that the order makes no distinctions between the
different types of AI available making the certification
difficult.
The panel of Roundtable experts included Amrane Cohen, Chapter
13 Standing Trustee, Central District of California; Amy Beth
Cyphert, Lecturer, West Virginia University, College of Law; Keri
P. Ebeck, Bernstein-Burkley, P.C.; Professor Ingrid Michelsen
Hillinger, Boston College Law School; Richardo I. Kilpatrick,
Shermeta, Kilpatrick and Associates, P.C.; Honorable Keith M.
Lundin, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Middle District of
Tennessee (Retired); Honorable Cynthia A. Norton, United States
Bankruptcy Judge, Western District of Missouri; John Rao, Senior
Attorney, National Consumer Law Center; Tara Twomey, Director,
Executive Office, U.S. Trustees, U.S. Department of Justice.
A video recording of the Bankruptcy Roundtable can be found
here: https://youtu.be/rDmWR0E5808?si=j8E-Yy_sg0yldoHG
Founded in 1965, the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees
is a membership association comprised of more than 1,000 trustees,
attorneys, certified public accountants, and other individuals
interested in insolvency related issues. The association is
dedicated to the highest standards of education related to Chapter
13 bankruptcy. For additional information visit
http://www.nactt.com.
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Beth Hawks CoreComm PR bethhawks@corecommpr.com