Standing Order — Judge Michael Baylson (E.D. Pa.)
Annotated summary of Judge Michael Baylson's federal AI standing order — notable for requiring identification of the specific AI tool used in filings.
Judge Michael Baylson's standing order goes further than Judge Starr's. In addition to requiring disclosure that generative AI was used in preparing a filing, it requires identification of the specific AI tool and a certification that the output was verified by a human. It is the most demanding of the widely-adopted federal AI standing orders.
What the order adds beyond Starr
- Identification of the specific AI tool — not just "generative AI" — used in the filing.
- A certification of human verification of every AI-touched portion.
- An obligation to file the certification with the brief itself, not as a separate side-letter.
Why tool-level identification matters
Different AI tools have different known failure modes. A tool with a verified hallucination rate of 5% in legal queries presents a different risk profile than one with a 30% rate. Tool-level identification gives the court — and opposing counsel — the information needed to evaluate whether verification was adequate to the tool's known limitations.
Practical consequences for litigators
- Firms must track which tools are used on which matters. A general "we use AI" statement is not sufficient.
- Vendor selection becomes a discoverable governance decision. Choosing a tool with known accuracy problems may itself be a Rule 11 issue.
- Tool changes mid-matter must be tracked — a brief drafted partly with Tool A and partly with Tool B requires both disclosures.
How this maps to COUNSEL
Baylson's order operationalizes COUNSEL's Lifecycle pillar. Procurement and monitoring of AI tools — what tools are approved, by whom, for what matters — become governance questions a firm must answer in writing before filing in front of him.
Practitioner takeaways
- Maintain a current, written list of AI tools approved for use at your firm and the matters on which each is permitted.
- Build tool-identification into your filing checklist alongside the Starr-style certification.
- Treat your tool inventory as discoverable. Vendor due diligence files are produceable.
Judge Baylson's current standing orders are available at the link above.
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