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Council debate over outside counsel and AI use prompts request to review city attorney contract
Summary
Councilmember Dalbo urged a review of the city's contract with the Sabatini law firm after citing an appellate brief with allegedly fabricated citations; the firm and other council members defended the firm's work and the mayor said staff will place the matter on a future agenda for review.
Councilmember Dalbo raised concerns during the July 20 meeting about the Sabatini law firm's prior appellate filings, saying those filings included case citations she believes were generated by artificial-intelligence tools and were not accurate. Dalbo said the concern creates potential risk for the city and asked that the firm and its contract be reviewed publicly.
"By signing his name on the briefs filled with hallucinations... Mr Sabatini violated his professional obligation both to his clients and to the court," Dalbo said, urging transparency and a formal agenda review. Dalbo also asked whether the firm had previously donated to council campaigns and whether that created an appearance problem.
A representative for the law firm addressed the council and said the episode referenced was an older appellate filing; the speaker (from the firm) described industry-wide early problems with AI in legal research and stated the firm now applies careful case checks and disclaimers when AI is used. The firm representative said all attorneys in the firm are admitted and in good standing and that the firm routinely reviews all citations.
Mayor DePhew and other council members expressed that the topic merited a public agenda item; the mayor said a review could be scheduled so the firm could present what it has done for the city and the council could assess whether contract continuation is appropriate. No termination or contract vote occurred on July 20.
