Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Garfield.Law: SRA approves AI-only small claims debt recovery firm, raising access-to-justice opportunities, oversight questions and competitive pressures in England and Wales

Published on: 09 June 2025

Published by a Law360 reporter

Legal News

Article summary

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recently authorised Garfield.Law to deliver legal assistance via AI rather than human solicitors. The fees are eye-catching: £2 for a ‘polite chaser’, and £7.50 for a letter before action that aligns with the County Court’s formal debt protocol. Co-founder Philip Young told Law360 the venture is designed to support companies and tradespeople in recovering modest debts through the county courts, while signalling broader ambitions. He said the team will keep building and launching further tools because his goal is to help as many people as possible. According to the former City commercial litigator, this approach should lower costs and smooth the path to the justice system across a wide range of matters. Each year, small firms miss out on billions of pounds in unpaid invoices, frequently because pursuing claims below £10,000 is too expensive or takes too long. Young described the challenge as vast, noting that many unrepresented individuals are turning to consumer AI such as ChatGPT and attempting to rely on those services for guidance too...

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