**Judge Kevin Castel sits in the same courthouse where the Mata v

Judge Kevin Castel sits in the same courthouse where the Mata v. Avianca disaster unfolded, and his AI standing order reflects the hard lessons that case taught the Southern District of New York. His requirements for AI disclosure aren't theoretical—they're born from watching a colleague deal with fabricated citations in real time.

Judge Castel's order requires attorneys to disclose AI-assisted research and drafting, with a particular emphasis on citation verification. If you're filing in his courtroom, he expects you to treat AI output with the same skepticism you'd apply to a first-year associate's draft—verify everything.

Judge Castel's AI Standing Order Requirements

Judge Castel's standing order requires attorneys to disclose when generative AI tools have been used to assist in preparing court filings. The disclosure must confirm that the attorney has personally verified all legal citations and factual assertions generated or influenced by AI. The order covers tools like ChatGPT, Google Bard (now Gemini), Claude, and similar large language models. It does not apply to traditional legal research databases. The verification requirement is the centerpiece—Judge Castel doesn't just want to know you used AI, he wants assurance that a licensed attorney confirmed the output is accurate.

The Mata v. Avianca Shadow Over S.D.N.Y.

You can't understand Judge Castel's AI order without understanding Mata v. Avianca. In that case, before Judge P. Kevin Castel's colleague Judge Koeltl (the sanctions were ultimately handled by the assigned judge), attorney Steven Schwartz submitted a brief containing at least six fabricated case citations generated by ChatGPT. The resulting sanctions, national media coverage, and professional humiliation sent shockwaves through the S.D.N.Y. Judge Castel watched this unfold in his own courthouse and moved to prevent a repeat. His order is explicitly designed to ensure that the attorneys before him have done what Schwartz failed to do—actually read and verify the cases they cite.

What Triggers Disclosure Before Judge Castel

The disclosure obligation triggers whenever generative AI contributes to any aspect of a court filing. This includes drafting arguments, conducting legal research, summarizing cases, generating outlines, or producing any text that appears in the final filing. Using AI to brainstorm strategy or organize your thoughts, without incorporating AI-generated text into the filing, falls into a gray area. The safe approach: if AI touched any part of the work product that reaches the court, disclose it. Judge Castel has made clear he'd rather see unnecessary disclosures than discover undisclosed AI use after the fact.

Compliance Checklist for Judge Castel's Courtroom

Step 1: Before drafting, check Judge Castel's current standing orders on the S.D.N.Y. website—they're updated periodically. Step 2: If AI was used at any stage, prepare your disclosure statement identifying the tool and its role. Step 3: Run every single citation through Westlaw or Lexis. Don't spot-check—verify them all. Step 4: Confirm that quoted language from cases actually appears in those cases. AI tools frequently paraphrase holdings as direct quotes. Step 5: Have a second attorney review AI-assisted sections before filing. Step 6: File your disclosure concurrently with the filing it covers.

Judge Castel vs. Other S.D.N.Y. Judges on AI Disclosure

The Southern District of New York has become one of the most AI-aware courts in the country, largely because of Mata v. Avianca. Multiple S.D.N.Y. judges have issued AI standing orders, including Judge Jed Rakoff and Judge Sidney Stein. Judge Castel's order is in the middle of the strictness spectrum—more detailed than some, less prescriptive than others. The S.D.N.Y. as a district has been moving toward standardization but hasn't adopted a uniform policy yet. What sets Judge Castel apart is his emphasis on citation verification specifically, reflecting the particular failure mode he saw in the Mata case.

The Bottom Line: Before filing in Judge Castel's courtroom, verify every citation through traditional databases, prepare a clear AI disclosure statement, and remember that his order exists because of a real disaster in his own courthouse. He's not asking out of curiosity—he's asking because he's seen what happens when attorneys don't verify.