Practice points

Blockchain and smart contracts were given a major boost yesterday, when the expert panel charged with giving the technology legal certainty declared they should be treated in principal as property.

A Supreme Court justice has called for the creation of an expert commission to act as “a sort of independent regulator” of algorithms, staffed by coding technicians, with lawyers and ethicists.

A solicitor, his law firm and the barrister they instructed have been granted summary judgment on a negligence claim brought against them by a banker fired for his work with boxer David Haye.

The Chancellor of the High Court has urged commercial lawyers to prepare for the disruptive impact of technology on the law, the legal system and legal profession before others “steal a march” on them.

Professor Richard Susskind has called for the development of a “standard, adaptable, global platform for online courts” that can be rolled out to fortify access to justice around the world.

A leading personal injury lawyer has described how working for a “posh law firm” while not having gone to university felt like “a terrible stigma”.

Sixteen-year-olds have been invited to compete in a competition aimed at educating them about the work of a solicitor and testing their aptitude, with the winner receiving financial support to become one.

Approval of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam is not a foregone conclusion, the Legal Services Board is to make clear to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Issues such as quality and cost must be addressed.

The vast majority of major law firms still have significant unaddressed cyber-risk, despite repeated urging by regulators, insurers and others to shore up their defences, according to new research.

Law schools are not taking advantage of the “enormous regulatory freedom” they have and instead are largely all offering the same kind of law degree, new research has found.