A UK freelancer has successfully recovered £7,000 in unpaid fees using an AI lawyer, in what is believed to be a world first.
The claim was won by Garfield AI, an AI-powered law firm that helps individuals and businesses pursue debt claims at a fraction of the cost of traditional legal services, marking a potentially significant moment for freelancers and small businesses struggling with late payments.
The case comes against a backdrop of persistent payment delays across the UK economy. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are owed an estimated £70.4bn in late payments, despite initiatives such as the Fair Payment Code, which aims to encourage prompt payment practices among businesses.
AI law firm lowers the barrier to entry for debt recovery
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape professional services, a landmark court case has highlighted its potential to make legal action more accessible for freelancers and small businesses.
The claimant, freelance HR consultant Tamires Camal Taquidir, was awarded £7,000 after spending just £400 on legal fees. By comparison, traditional solicitor fees for pursuing a claim can easily run into the thousands of pounds, making debt recovery uneconomical for many freelancers and sole traders.
Garfield AI carried out all of the legal work leading up to the trial, including drafting four witness statements and preparing the relevant court documents. The firm then instructed a human barrister to represent the claimant in court, in what the barrister described as “a fundamentally human exercise”.
Despite being in operation for little more than a year, Garfield AI says it has already supported around 600 claims and helped users recover more than £500,000.
The case touches on a longstanding issue for freelancers. Research suggests that around 85% have experienced late or missed payments at some point in their careers, with many spending significant amounts of time chasing invoices or writing off debts altogether.
The Garfield AI case suggests that AI-powered legal services could help lower the barrier to entry for debt recovery, making it more practical and affordable for freelancers and small businesses to pursue the money they are owed.
How to use AI tools safely when chasing or recovering late payments
Garfield is the UK’s most prominent AI tool designed to help users pursue debt claims.
The platform operates within the court system, helping users prepare documents, generate evidence bundles and guide them through the claims process. It also offers lower-cost services such as “polite chaser” letters for as little as £2 and court claim filing support from around £50.
Alongside specialist legal tools, many freelancers are also turning to general-purpose AI platforms such as ChatGPT or Gemini to draft emails, organise evidence or understand legal processes. However, caution is essential when handling sensitive material.
Contracts, invoices, client correspondence and financial records may contain confidential or commercially sensitive information. So, before uploading any documents, it’s important to review a platform’s privacy policy, understand how data is stored and whether it may be used to train future models.
To comply with the Data Protection Act, it’s also safer to anonymise documents by removing names, addresses, account numbers and other personal or client-identifying details before inputting them into an AI system.
Other effective ways to reduce and secure late payments
AI tools are increasingly part of the freelancer’s toolkit, but they are not the only option when it comes to getting paid on time.
Get Paid With Emma, a fortnightly Startups.co.uk column written by the UK’s Small Business Commissioner, Emma Jones CBE, regularly highlights practical steps for dealing with late-paying clients and securing payments.
You’re also able to involve the Office of the Small Business Commissioner for free, once an invoice is overdue. The Commissioner’s office can engage with the debtor and help chase outstanding payments on your behalf, offering a practical route to resolving late-payment issues, rather than just preventing them.
UK law also provides additional protections. The government is rolling out a series of payment reforms in what it’s claiming to be its toughest crackdown on late payments in more than 25 years. Changes include introducing a new 60-day cap on payment terms and giving the Small Business Commissioner greater powers to investigate and adjudicate disputes.
Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts legislation, freelancers and small businesses can also charge statutory interest on overdue invoices, as well as fixed compensation and debt recovery costs. Even referencing these rights in a follow-up email has the potential to prompt faster payment.
More broadly, taking proactive steps to avoid late payments remains key. This includes checking if companies are signed up to the Fair Payment Code, issuing invoices promptly, and ensuring contracts clearly set out payment deadlines and penalties for late payment.
