ONE-CLICK AWAY LEGAL PRACTICE: A Perspective on Modern Legal Practice with AI in the Philippines

Abstract

Abstract While Artificial Intelligence (AI) may transform legal research within hours and deliver results in just a few seconds, it can also fabricate cases, a process known as “hallucination.” This article offers a legal practice perspective in the Philippines under the Supreme Court’s Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) and within the context of ASEAN Governance. The CPRA reaffirms that professional responsibility in the practice of law cannot be delegated to digital devices. The Supreme Court of the Philippines approved the Governance Framework on the Use of Human-Centered Augmented Intelligence in the Judiciary through a resolution dated February 18, 2026 (A.M. No. 25-11-28-SC), based on documented instances of AI-generated fake citations from foreign jurisdictions, and in response to a growing number of U.S. courts issuing standing orders requiring disclosure and human verification of all AI-generated content in court submissions. Alongside the ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics (2024) and the article’s proposed three-step verification workflow (existence-context-status), the following governance recommendations are suggested to anchor responsible one-click practice. Empirical research, however, shows that mistakes may still be made, and most importantly, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems do not necessarily prevent hallucinations since they do not ensure the accuracy of the text but rather rely on a retrieval and generation mechanism, which provides context for the text. As a result, it is the duty of lawyers in the Philippines to use their professional judgement and common sense in the use of any technological tool. The following recommendations are based on the need to ensure the integrity, credibility and truthfulness of the justice system in a technology rich world.