Upper Tribunal Observes That Uploading Confidential Documents Into Open-source AI Tools Waives Client Confidentiality And Legal Privilege

The Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (the tribunal) has criticised legal representatives in two separate cases for their use of AI: UK v Secretary of State for the Home Department (AI hallucinations; supervision; Hamid) [2026] UKUT 81 (IAC). The judgment also makes important points relating to privilege and supervision.

While the tribunal acknowledged that the use of legal AI programmes by properly trained professionals was a step forward in legal practice for properly focused legal research, and in other contexts such as large disclosure exercises, there are dangers which must be guarded against.

In relation to privilege, the court observed that uploading confidential documents into an open-source AI tool such as ChatGPT placed this information in the public domain, and so breached client confidentiality and waived legal privilege. The court also noted that closed source AI tools which did not place information in the public domain, such as Microsoft Copilot,