Today marks the start of the 16th National Pro Bono Week, and as well as providing an opportunity to reflect on the major (and increasing) role that pro bono services play in access to justice, the event is intended to encourage other lawyers to become involved. The scale of the problem means that many lawyers think there is nothing meaningful they can do at an individual level. However, the reality is that the maxim ‘every little helps’ is very true of pro bono services and certainly, in terms of the impact on the lives of those being helped, goes a very long way.

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect in May 2018. It takes the existing Data Protection Act 1998 principles to the next level and will enforce heavy fines on any non-compliant organisation. On 13 September 2017, the government introduced the Data Protection Bill. If enacted, the bill will repeal and replace the DPA and supplement the GDPR. The existing DPA and the new EU regulation are all about data privacy and the rights of the individual.

In an era when half of UK firms holding personal data were hit by a cyber breach or attack in the past year, the general public are becoming increasingly aware of where their data is stored and how it’s being protected. A few short years ago, many wouldn’t have been able to define ‘cloud technology’ or have known what a ‘ransomware attack’ is, but that has changed. Widespread coverage of these issues is growing, and scrutiny of targeted firms is intensifying.

Avocado toast featured heavily at the recent Legal Geek conference as a metaphor for how established and new technology solutions are being knitted together by innovative lawyers to streamline their processes and transform client service. This is not simply for the sake of technological progress; a consistent theme throughout the day was how new technology will free lawyers from mechanical tasks and allow them to focus on the more rewarding aspects of the job. When it comes to mechanical tasks, like bulk document review, machines are clearly going to be better at them than people.

The clock is ticking for UK employers who haven’t yet gone live with auto-enrolment workplace pensions. The final staging dates are imminent and the Pensions Regulator is now routinely publishing details of employers who’ve been ordered to pay fines for ignoring new pension rules. If you’re not compliant already, now’s the time to act. It hasn’t been labelled “the biggest shake-up of pension reform for a generation” for nothing.