Government invests to research how AI can improve the law
The government is to fund research into the potential for AI to improve the legal system, with a warning that, if the technology is mishandled, it could have dire consequences.
SRA quizzes big firms on sexual harassment policies
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has asked the country’s biggest law firms to explain how they prevent and respond to allegations of sexual harassment, it has emerged.
SRA “on wrong side of history” says Lewis after Twitter fine
The Jewish solicitor fined for posting offensive messages on social media in response to alleged neo-Nazi trolls has accused the SRA of being “on the wrong side of history”.
Some 125 barristers earned more than £1m last year
There were around 125 barristers reporting fees of more than £1m last year, and another 200 who brought in more than £500,000, new figures from the Bar Council have suggested.
Divorce is not a “blank cheque” for litigation, judge warns
Litigation is not a “blank cheque” and divorcing people cannot behave on the basis that they are bound to be reimbursed for their costs, a leading family law judge has warned.
Clients “already turning away from English law” due to Brexit
The risk of a no-deal Brexit is leading some law firms to advise clients to exclude English law from contracts, MPs have been told.
Sumption: Bar of future will be smaller and more specialist
There will be fewer and more specialist barristers in the future, Lord Sumption has predicted, as he criticised some of the Bar’s actions in response to legal aid cuts.
Walker: Justice system risks being relegated to “second division”
The government risks the UK legal system being “relegated to the world’s second division, at the worst possible time” because of Brexit, the chairman of the Bar Council has warned.
Labour promises Bar training overhaul as part of legal reforms
A Labour government will reform barristers’ training by putting it back in the hands of the Inns of Court and ending the “profiteering” by commercial providers, Baroness Chakrabarti has said.
Court security: Thousands of knives confiscated every year
Thousands of knives are removed every year from people entering court buildings, the head of the court service has revealed, justifying security checks that barristers have criticised.
