{
  "id": 5573145,
  "title": "Lawyer struck off for using fake AI evidence in his own disciplinary case",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/lawyer-struck-off-for-using-fake-ai-evidence-in-his-own-disciplinary",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-04T13:23:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/lawyer-struck-off-for-using-fake-ai-evidence-in-his-own-disciplinary-case/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Abhishek Kumar, a 41-year-old immigration lawyer, has been struck off the register of solicitors after employing AI-generated evidence in his own defense during a disciplinary hearing. Kumar was referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) following his criminal conviction in 2024 for knowingly employing a vulnerable adult with an immigration disqualification. Sentenced to a 12-month community order and 150 hours of unpaid work, Kumar defended himself at the SDT, but his written answer, drafted with AI, contained misleading quotations and non-existent cases.\n\nUpon identifying the false citations, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) contacted Kumar, who subsequently emailed an explanation and apology, also created using AI. However, the SDT ruled that Kumar's actions breached both the immigration offence and the misuse of AI, dismissing his claims that he lacked the expertise to verify AI output and that his actions did not constitute a breach of public trust and confidence in the profession. The Tribunal emphasized that Kumar would have faced a strike-off for either the immigration violation or the AI misconduct independently.\n\nThis incident marks the first time the SDT has had to address the issue of AI-generated \"hallucinations\" in legal proceedings. In May, London-based law firm Pinsent Masons faced criticism from a High Court judge after a lawyer sent the court AI-generated letters containing false legal information. The firm referred the matter to the SRA, which is currently investigating the incident. In August, the legal watchdog issued a formal warning to the industry following 42 reports of AI misuse and fake court citations.",
  "summary": "An immigration lawyer who was referred to a Tribunal after a criminal conviction has been struck off after using AI-generated evidence as part of his own defence. Abhishek Kumar, 41, a registered foreign lawyer, was referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) after his 2024 criminal conviction at the Central Criminal Court, after he knowingly [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}