Referral made after ‘Fake’ Cases Discovered in Barrister’s Submissions

The Law Society Gazette (UK) recently reported on an English High Court judicial review case where the Judge referred lawyers to the regulatory authorities that had made submissions containing five fake cases.

In an article titled ‘Judge flags lawyers to regulators after five fake cases cited’ by John Hyde dated 7 May 2025, it was reported that the lawyers in question initially responded to the Court that the false case citations were ‘cosmetic errors’ but later recanted – accepting that they were serious errors.  

The Judge said because the Barrister in question had not been cross-examined a finding could not be made that the fake cases had been generated by artificial intelligence.

The Judge further said he had ‘substantial difficulty with members of the bar who put fake cases in statements of facts and grounds’.

A finding was made that the lawyers’ conduct was ‘improper, unreasonable and negligent’.

The transcript of the hearing was ordered to be sent to the Bar Standards Board and the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

A link to the article is here.