Practice Management

The pioneering digital tribunal thought to be the model for England and Wales’s online court will begin resolving small claims disputes worth under about £3,000 on 1 June, it has emerged. British Columbia’s civil resolution tribunal claims to be “the first online tribunal in the world that is integrated into the public justice system”.

There is a risk that the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s plans for education reform will do little to disrupt the privilege of students with access to funding and other advantages, according to an independent report commissioned by the regulator.

Leading conveyancing firm Convey Law has launched what is said to be the first fully automated chatbot that can engage with potential clients, provide instant conveyancing quotes, and then arrange a follow-up conversation with a member of its team.

The Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that a law firm which had been negligent in drawing up a loan facility agreement was not legally responsible for their client’s decision to actually make the loan. The decision has been branded as good news for solicitors, who “no longer appear to be expected to underwrite claimants’ risks and business ventures”.

The Supreme Court has sided with a leading professional indemnity insurer in interpreting the rules that govern the way insurers can aggregate multiple claims against solicitors. Overturning the Court of Appeal, it was ruling in claims by investors against a law firm arising from failed property developments in Turkey and Morocco.

City law firm Kennedys has launched an extended version of its virtual defence lawyer, which for the first time enables clients to send cases directly to counsel without the need for a solicitor. The firm is currently building a more advanced version of litigation management system KLAiM using AI.

A solicitor and online legal services pioneer who developed the first automated system for clients to send briefs to counsel, is launching a private client service this summer that “enables people to pick and choose the legal services they need and want to pay for”.

The days of lawyers as trusted advisers are numbered because a reliable outcome to their issue is more important to clients than a relationship with their lawyer, Professor Richard Susskind has claimed. He also expressed concern about the impact of Brexit on the UK maintaining its focus on a period of unprecedented technological progress.

The Bar Council has warned barristers about “bending the truth” when making claims on a personal or chambers website and said they must be able to support claims that they are one of the best in their field.

AXA Insurance has teamed up with alternative business structure rradar to launch what they call “a world first in legal and risk advice”, powered by IBM Watson technology. ‘Grace’ is described as “a machine learning-driven app which engages businesses directly with a virtual assistant to deliver the knowledge and experience of legal and risk management experts”.

TThe Court of Appeal has again allowed an appeal against a ruling giving a firm of solicitors summary judgment, this time in relation to a claim for non-payment of fees and a counter-claim of negligence against them.

International firm Bryan Cave has set up a team of tech-friendly lawyers from its offices around the world to cut through the “hype” around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in law firms. It said AI has “enormous potential”, but the real value comes from “lawyers being part of the conversation when these tools come out”.

The Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that gave a national law firm summary judgment in a case alleging that its negligence had caused a company to lose a £4m intellectual property licensing deal with a global engineering giant.

Research by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to support its plans to reform indemnity insurance has “clear limitations”, ignoring the recent increase in claims related to cybercrime among other failures, the Law Society has claimed as it geared up for the next round of its battle with the regulator over the reforms.

Only 10% of people with legal problems use a solicitor, and often only after approaching other sources of advice first, major government research involving over 10,000 people has revealed. However, when they did use a solicitor or a barrister, almost all said they were satisfied with the advice provided.