HR consultant wins debt case with Garfield AI support

A freelance HR consultant, Tamires Camal Taquidir, has won an English court case after using Garfield AI to pursue an unpaid debt of £7,000, in what is believed to be the first trial victory involving an AI lawyer. She paid the firm about £400 to send a legal letter and issue proceedings, saying the tool made the recovery process less stressful, expensive and time-consuming.

Garfield AI, authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in April last year, can be used to make claims from £30 to up to £10,000. The firm prepared the case, handled the dispute over a counterclaim from the defendant, and produced four witness statements and a document bundle for the three-hour trial at Wandsworth county court on 14 May. A human barrister, Dominic Li, represented Taquidir in court, where she was awarded the money owed.

Garfield co-founder Philip Young called the result a “landmark moment” for access to justice, arguing that small businesses often abandon debts because litigation costs can outweigh possible recovery. Li said Garfield presented the case “clearly and efficiently”, but stressed that courtroom advocacy “remained essential and a fundamentally human exercise”.