Manchester Crown Court: AI assistants coming its way
The government is to develop AI legal assistants to speed up the work of the Crown Court as one of a series of new technology projects announced today.
An AI transcription service is also being trialled for a possible roll-out across courts and tribunals.
The moves follow justice secretary David Lammy setting out his vision [1] for the future of the courts earlier this year.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the new AI legal assistants “will be developed in partnership with the UK’s top legal experts and leading AI developers to support legal professionals with routine casework, including research and case analysis”.
The purpose of the technology was to drive productivity and boost efficiency.
“Before being used in the Crown Court, the new technology will first be trialled in highly controlled environments that set clear standards for safe and ethical use,” it said.
“This will ensure any new software meets the high bar required by judges and lawyers before being considered for rollout in the courts system.”
The MoJ said judges were already planning to use a new AI tool to help identify trial-ready cases and group similar hearings together.
Mr Lammy said: “Artificial intelligence has the power to transform how we live, work, and govern for the better.
“This impact for good can be seen in our justice system – with thousands of days of admin work saved for our probation staff, and the advent of new tools which aim to cut court backlogs and deliver swifter justice for victims.”
Every probation officer in England and Wales has now been equipped with Justice Transcribe, an AI tool that automatically records and transcribes conversations with offenders.
Since it was first used on 7 October 2025, over 800,000 meetings have been summarised using Justice Transcribe, equivalent to around 133,000 hours.
Following its success, a similar tool is now being trialled in the immigration and asylum tribunal so that judges can transcribe case notes and alleviate administrative pressures, before being considered for wider rollout across the courts and tribunals system.
Yesterday, the MoJ announced that the legal sector would be the first to take part in its new AI Growth Labs, AI testing environments.
Law Society chief executive Ian Jeffrey commented: “We welcome the MoJ’s acknowledgement of the importance of ensuring safe and ethical use of any new tools, including AI.
“However, for the use of AI in the Crown Court to be effective, the pilot must be thoroughly evaluated. The outcomes of these evaluations, along with the impact of AI on the justice system, should be made public.”
He added that technology, while valuable, could not replace “vital funding and additional court staff”.