Representing Tamires Camal Taquidir, a freelance human resources executive, Garfield’s chatbot was successfully used to sue a hospitality business over unpaid fees.

Ms Taquidir instructed the chatbot to draft legal letters and submit her case before a three-hour trial at Wandsworth County Court, which involved seven separate witnesses.

Ms Taquidir was represented in court by Dominic Li, a recently qualified barrister at One Essex Court, who used documents drafted by the AI firm to fight the case.

Mr Li said: “I found the documents drafted by Garfield AI to be more than sufficient for the purposes of this trial.”

Philip Young, the chief executive of Garfield AI, said: “This is a landmark moment.

“Here, a freelancer who had done the work and not been paid was able to take her case all the way to trial, resist a counterclaim, and win.”

The hospitality business, which was ordered to pay the debts, was represented by a high-street law firm based in Manchester and a barrister in court.

Garfield AI is a machine capable of drafting legal letters, filing claim forms and even writing up defences that can be used in court, without the input of any human lawyers.

In May 2025, it became the first AI law firm to be approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and it remains the only law firm to rely on AI alone.

The chatbot handles claims worth up to £10,000, charging only a fraction of the costs that would be incurred by hiring a solicitor from a traditional firm.

Garfield AI will draft pre-action letters for as little as £2 each and write up claim forms for sums of £50. Traditional law firms regularly charge hundreds of pounds for similar work.

Daniel Long, Garfield AI’s chief technical officer, said: “This trial win is an important proof point: regulated AI-powered legal services can help real people recover real money through the courts.”

The trial victory comes as law firms are investing heavily in AI tools, as they seek to cut costs by automating low-level work.

It has seen the world’s top law firms forge deals with the technology giants as they have also cited the rise of AI for cutting jobs.

Freshfields, the “magic circle” law firm, struck a deal with Anthropic in April, while New York legal giant Kirkland & Ellis signed a similar deal with Palantir earlier this month.

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