Solicitors & legal services · Kent
AI for solicitors and small legal practices
Law firms produce text for a living, so AI is tempting and the stakes are high. The SRA's August 2026 warning notice is clear that firms may use it and people stay accountable for every word. We're not lawyers and don't give legal advice: we set up and train on AI tools inside your firm's own rules.
AI Kick-Start £395 · half a day
Based in Kent, working with businesses across the UK: on site in Kent, by video anywhere else.
First, the citation problem
In R (Ayinde) v Haringey LBC [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin), fake AI-generated citations led to referrals to the regulators. The SRA cites the case in its 'Misuse of AI' warning notice of 17 August 2026, which says every case cited to a court must be verified. General chatbots produce plausible authorities that don't exist, so any research output gets checked by a person against a proper legal source before anyone relies on it.
What the SRA expects, in practice
| SRA expectation | What it looks like in a small firm |
|---|---|
| Protect confidentiality | Client data only in approved tools, on terms that don't let the provider train on it |
| Check outputs for hallucinations | Every authority, date and figure verified by a fee earner against a primary source |
| Supervise AI use | A named person approves tools and reviews how they're used |
| Accountability can't be delegated | The supervising solicitor signs off the work, whatever drafted it; AI 'has no separate legal personality' |
| Tell clients when AI is used | A plain-English line in your client care letter and privacy notice |
| Governance and controls | A written policy, an approved tools list and a record of training |
Sources: SRA Risk Outlook on AI in the legal market (20 November 2023) and SRA 'Misuse of AI' warning notice (17 August 2026).
Useful jobs, with a fee earner in charge
Routine letters
'Draft a letter to the other side asking for the completion statement by Friday.' You get a draft in your style to edit.
Long documents
In your approved tool, ask for a lease's break clauses, rent review dates and repairing obligations with page references, so you can check each one.
Client-care explanations
A dense paragraph on costs or the conveyancing steps, rewritten in plain English for a first-time buyer.
Marketing
Drafts of blog posts, LinkedIn updates and service pages, checked for accuracy before they're published.
A precedents assistant
Your approved clauses and templates in a shared Claude or ChatGPT Project, so the team finds the right starting point quickly.
Meeting notes
Summaries with actions from client meetings, once the client knows the call is recorded and why, as ICO guidance expects.
Confidentiality, privilege and the tools
Under the SRA's 2026 notice, client information needs suitable safeguards before it enters any AI tool, and the provider mustn't train on it without authorisation. Free consumer accounts with training switched on fail that test. OpenAI's Business tier and Anthropic's Team plan leave firm content out of training by default; Microsoft gives the same assurance for Copilot Chat on work accounts.
Privilege is a legal question for you, not us. The practical side is knowing where a document goes when it's uploaded, who at the provider can see it and how long it's kept. Ask for the provider's data processing terms and record the answers in your AI policy.
If you use a practice management system such as Clio or LEAP, check whether it has added AI features and where they process data before adding another tool. For recorded meetings, the meeting notes page compares the options.
What a Kick-Start would look at first
-
Who uses what
We'd find out which AI tools people already use, including on their own phones, then agree an approved list and the right plans. -
Two drafting wins
Usually a letter template and a document-summary prompt, built on anonymised examples, with the checks written into the instructions. -
The plan
Delivered within three working days, it says whether a written AI policy or team training should come next. Managed AI set-up, or a build quoted at £1,000 or more, in the 60 days after carries the £395 as a credit.
Questions people ask
Can solicitors use ChatGPT?
The SRA hasn't banned it. Its 2026 notice expects governance and controls, protected client data, verified outputs and clear accountability, so the plan and the habits matter more than the brand.
Have lawyers been caught out by fake AI citations?
Yes. In R (Ayinde) v Haringey LBC [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin), fake AI-generated citations led to regulator referrals, and the SRA now says every case cited to a court must be verified.
Can AI do legal research?
It can point you towards sources and summarise material you supply. Treat every authority it names as unverified until a person has checked it in a proper legal source.
Do you give legal advice on using AI?
No. We're not lawyers. We set up tools and train staff within rules your firm decides, and your COLP or a specialist adviser should approve the policy.
Is there an AI law firm in the UK?
The SRA authorised Garfield.Law in May 2025, an AI-based firm handling small-claims debt recovery, on conditions including named solicitors accountable for every output.
Who you'll work with
James Hayes Consulting is led by Ross Hayes, who builds software for his own businesses and uses AI tools in them every day. We set AI up on your real work, explain it in plain English, and tell you straight if something isn’t worth paying for.
Every project starts with a free 15-minute call, and prices are agreed in writing before you commit.
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