SDT strikes off foreign lawyer over immigration conviction and AI citations
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal struck Abhishek Kumar off the register of foreign lawyers after proving a 2024 conviction for knowingly employing a person disqualified by immigration status and, separately, AI-generated misleading citations in his defense to the SRA. The judgment is dated August 25, 2026; Law360 reported the ruling on September 3, 2026 as the tribunal's first AI-citation case. Dishonesty was not alleged; the tribunal said either allegation alone would have led to strike-off.
Opinion (Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal) → · Law360 UK, Legal Futures, ComplexDiscovery +1
Key points
- Strike-off rested on the 2024 immigration-employment conviction and the AI citation allegations.Solicitors Disciplinary TribunalCity A.M.
- Tribunal said either allegation alone would have produced the same sanction.Solicitors Disciplinary TribunalLegal FuturesCity A.M.
- AI errors appeared in the March 12 answer and an April 9 email after the SRA flagged the first set.Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal
- Judgment dated August 25, 2026; Law360 reported the ruling on September 3 as a first for the SDT.Solicitors Disciplinary TribunalLaw360 UK
- Dishonesty was not alleged on either count.Solicitors Disciplinary TribunalComplexDiscovery
Sources5 articles across 5 outlets
City A.M.
ComplexDiscovery
Law360 UK
Legal Futures
Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal