SRA Authorises First Law Firm Providing Legal Services Through A

SRA Authorises First Law Firm Providing Legal Services Through AI

Garfield.Law’s authorisation is a ‘landmark’ for the legal profession, SRA Chief Executive Paul Philip reportedly said.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has authorised the first law firm providing regulated legal services through artificial intelligence (AI). Based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Garfield.Law offers small and medium-sized businesses the use of an AI-powered litigation assistant to help them recover unpaid debts of up to £10,000 through the English small claims court. Garfield.Law’s authorisation is a ‘landmark’ for the legal profession, SRA Chief Executive Paul Philip reportedly said.

He reportedly further said, “With so many people and small businesses struggling to access legal services, we cannot afford to pull up the drawbridge on innovations that could have big public benefits. Responsible use of AI by law firms could improve legal services, while making them easier to access and more affordable.”

The SRA reportedly first engaged with the owners to make sure that its rules could be met by an AI service, including reassurance that processes are in place to quality-check the work, keep client information confidential, and safeguard against conflicts of interest before authorising Garfield.Law. The SRA said it had also checked that Garfield.Law is managing the risk of “AI hallucinations” – a response generated by AI that contains false or misleading information presented as fact. The SRA reportedly said, “The system will not be able to propose relevant case law, which is a high-risk area for large language model machine learning.”

Garfield.Law also emphasised on its website that it will not provide legal advice on the merits of a case.

The firm is not autonomous and will take a step only where the client has approved it, the SRA said. Named regulated solicitors will still ultimately be accountable for ensuring the firm meets professional standards.

Philip reportedly said, “Any new law firm comes with potential risks, but the risks around an AI-driven law firm are novel. We have worked closely with this firm to make sure it can meet our rules and all the appropriate protections are in place. As this is likely to be the first of many AI-driven law firms, we will be monitoring progress of this new model closely so we can both manage the risks and realise the benefits to consumers.”

Garfield.Law was co-founded by commercial litigation lawyer Philip Young, who co-founded City boutique firm Cooke Young & Keidan, and quantum physicist Daniel Young.

(Correction: "Long" was used in the rewritten version; original has "Daniel Young")

Young reportedly said, “UK businesses lose billions each year to unpaid invoices. SMEs are especially hard hit. Garfield fixes this. It gives businesses the tools to get paid fairly and affordably.”

According to the firm’s website, fees begin at £2 for a ‘polite chaser’ letter, and the assistant is intended to guide claimants through each step of the small claims court process, through to trial.

Young reportedly said, “This is an ideal application for the latest advances in AI. It uses AI to read through legal documents and guide users through the many precise steps of the court process – something that’s simple in theory but complicated in practice.”