Technology

The demands of working under Covid-19 has led to an accelerated culture change at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, with lawyers much more willing to adopt tech solutions rapidly.

Online will-writer Farewill has raised £20m as it targets a major expansion in revenue, staff numbers and new services, including powers of attorney.

An online service that helps divorcing couples draft their own documents and not use lawyers has received a new round of funding to increase the number of people it can help.

Automation in the legal profession will most probably be “a decades-long process” but artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining what it means to be a ‘great’ lawyer.

The ground-breaking DoNotPay chatbot – which describes itself as the world’s first robot lawyer – is to ramp up its UK offering after securing $12m (£9.6m) in backing from Silicon Valley.

Security experts have highlighted email interception as the “weakest link” in firms’ defences against cybercrime in the property market.

A private equity company that last year bought two major volume conveyancing firms has now taken a minority stake in a solicitor-owned legal technology company for £1.5m.

Unregulated providers are leading the way with developing consumer-facing legal technology, showing that the way solicitors are regulated is “not an obstacle to innovation”.

A not-for-profit training institute for in-house lawyers is aiming to transform those often portrayed by other staff as “digital laggards” into digital leaders.

The president of the Family Division has cleared the way for more remote hearings, including those where parents and children appear as witnesses, by revising the guidance for judges.