N.D. Ill.: Standing Order for Civil Cases Before Magistrate Judge Fuentes: Artificial Int…
Hon. Gabriel A. Fuentes, U.S. Magistrate Judge · U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Verified September 28, 2026
- Citation
- Standing Order for Civil Cases Before Magistrate Judge Fuentes: Artificial Intelligence (N.D. Ill.)
- Order date
- May 31, 2023
Status and scope
No AI-specific filing obligation: in force, but it imposes no disclosure, verification, or use restriction on attorney filings beyond existing rules. It provides: Current (March 3, 2026): the appendix, which 'is not a part of the Standing Order', refers all counsel to the Illinois Supreme Court's policy on artificial intelligence and states that the Court 'expects that no counsel will submit hallucinated authorities, and that all counsel will follow Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.'
What the instrument provides
- Current (March 3, 2026): the appendix, which 'is not a part of the Standing Order', refers all counsel to the Illinois Supreme Court's policy on artificial intelligence and states that the Court 'expects that no counsel will submit hallucinated authorities, and that all counsel will follow Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.'
- The Court 'will continue to presume that the pre-existing Rule 11 certification is a representation by filers, as living, breathing, thinking human beings, that they themselves have read and analyzed all cited authorities to ensure that such authorities actually exist and that the filings comply with Rule 11(b)(2).'
- No AI disclosure is required or requested in the current version.
Practice areas: federal civil
How the provision changed
Magistrate Judge Gabriel A. Fuentes was among the first federal judges to address generative AI in a standing order, and his approach has moved from requirement to reference.
May 31, 2023: required. The standing order for civil cases adopted “a new requirement” that “Any party using any generative AI tool in the preparation or drafting of documents for filing with the Court must disclose in the filing that AI was used and the specific AI tool that was used to conduct legal research and/or to draft the document.”
April 2, 2024: requested. The revised order recast the provision: “The Court kindly requests that any party using any generative AI tool in the preparation or drafting of documents for filing with the Court must disclose in the filing that generative AI was used to conduct legal research and/or to draft the document.”
December 20, 2024: referred to the state policy. The order noted that the court “has gravitated toward a more collaborative approach in which attorneys have been requested, and not required, to disclose their use of generative AI,” and directed counsel to the Illinois Supreme Court Policy on Artificial Intelligence, effective January 1, 2025.
The current version
The current standing order, dated March 3, 2026, carries an appendix that “is not a part of the Standing Order and is included here to provide attorneys with helpful background information and with the Court’s general requests and preferences.” Its AI paragraph “refers all counsel to the Illinois Supreme Court’s policy on artificial intelligence use effective January 1, 2025,” states that the court “expects that no counsel will submit hallucinated authorities, and that all counsel will follow Rule 11,” and adds that the court “will continue to presume that the pre-existing Rule 11 certification is a representation by filers, as living, breathing, thinking human beings, that they themselves have read and analyzed all cited authorities to ensure that such authorities actually exist.”
Primary source
How this order changed
Dated record of this order's own lifecycle. Where it was amended or withdrawn, the badge shows its standing after that step.
- activeThe standing order requires that any party using any generative AI tool to prepare documents for filing 'must disclose in the filing that AI was used and the specific AI tool that was used to conduct legal research and/or to draft the document.' source
- amendedThe revised order moves the provision to an appendix and makes it a request: the Court 'kindly requests' disclosure of generative AI used to conduct legal research or draft a document. source
- amendedThe revised order drops the disclosure request and directs counsel to the Illinois Supreme Court Policy on Artificial Intelligence, effective January 1, 2025. source
- amendedThe current order, dated March 3, 2026, keeps a short AI paragraph in its non-binding appendix referring counsel to the Illinois Supreme Court policy and Rule 11. source