An immigration lawyer has been struck off the register, meaning he can no longer practise law, after using AI-generated evidence in his own defence before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).
Abhishek Kumar, 41, a registered foreign lawyer, was referred to the SDT following a 2024 criminal conviction for knowingly employing a vulnerable adult who was disqualified from working due to immigration status, paying him "cash in hand". He was sentenced to a 12-month community order and 150 hours of unpaid work.
Kumar, who defended himself, submitted a written answer drafted with AI that included misleading quotations and non-existent cases. After the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) identified the false citations, Kumar sent an apology email, which was also drafted using AI and contained further false material.
The Tribunal dismissed Kumar's excuses, ruling that the harm caused by his misconduct was high for both the immigration violation and the AI misuse. The SDT clarified that Kumar would have been struck off for either offence independently.
This marks the first time the Tribunal has addressed issues related to AI hallucinations. The legal watchdog, the SRA, issued a formal warning in August about AI misuse after receiving 42 reports of AI misuse and fake court citations.