# Legal Citation Verification for AI Drafts — Optimaite Law

Source: [https://www.optimaite.eu/en/law/zitatenpruefung](https://www.optimaite.eu/en/law/zitatenpruefung)

> AI may draft. It still has to prove it.

Optimaite Law checks statutes, cases, references and citation chains in AI drafts. Every reference receives status, source and risk notice — so lawyers can draft faster without carrying blind hallucination risk into filings.

**What the AI does:** AI extracts all legal citations, checks existence, currency and context, and marks uncertain claims directly in the document.

## Problems today

### Hallucinations sound convincing

AI can cite statutes, paragraphs or cases that look plausible but do not exist or do not fit.

### Manual checking costs time

Checking every reference individually in databases eats the time saved by AI drafting.

### Currency is hard to see

A case may exist but be overruled, limited or relevant only in another context.

## From AI draft to verifiable authority

Citations are not decoration; they are checked.

### 01 — AI step

**AI:** AI extracts statutes, courts, docket numbers, references, paragraph numbers and implicit case-law claims.

**You:** You see a verification list directly on the document.

*§ 626 BGB · Federal Labour Court 2 AZR · para. 41*

### 02 — AI step

**AI:** AI checks whether statute and case exist and whether reference and court match.

**You:** Wrong or unclear hits are marked red instead of silently fixed.

### 03 — AI step

**AI:** AI assesses currency: repealed, overruled, limited, confirmed or open.

**You:** You decide whether the authority stays or is replaced.

### 04 — AI step

**AI:** AI suggests replacement authorities or more precise wording in track-changes mode.

**You:** You accept only what legally holds.

> **Lawyer in control:** Citation verification is a control layer, not a legal opinion. Optimaite marks source status and risk; legal assessment remains with the lawyer.

## Features

- **Citation extraction** — Statutes, cases, paragraph numbers and references are detected automatically from drafts.
- **Existence check** — Wrong docket numbers, non-existent statutes or distorted references are flagged.
- **Currency status** — Authorities are checked for overruled, confirmed or limited effect.
- **In-document notices** — Risks appear where the citation sits, not in a separate chat transcript.
- **Replacement suggestions** — AI suggests stronger authorities or more careful wording.

## Optimaite citation verification vs. manual database search

| Feature | Optimaite Law | Manuelle Recherche |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | All citations in draft | Samples or one by one |
| Location | Inside the document | Separate browser |
| Risk | Status per authority | Mental note |
| AI drafts | Control layer before dispatch | Trust or re-check |

## FAQs

### Does citation verification guarantee a filing is legally correct?

No. It checks sources, plausibility and currency. Legal argument and responsibility remain with the lawyer.

### Does it work for implicit case-law claims?

Yes. Optimaite can flag statements like 'according to settled case law' and request authority or more careful wording.

## Related modules
- [AI Brief Drafting](https://www.optimaite.eu/en/law/schriftsatz-ki)
- [Templates & Text Blocks](https://www.optimaite.eu/en/law/textbausteine-vorlagen)
- [Conflict Checking](https://www.optimaite.eu/en/law/konfliktpruefung)