Technology

The head of the Criminal Bar Association has outlined her “grave concerns” about algorithmic technology that is being used in the justice system without adequate regulation.

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.

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.

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.

A niche alternative business structure working with companies that build the global infrastructure of technology has used it to take on external funding and non-lawyers who can help the business grow.

The government’s court modernisation programme may not be completed by the deadline of 2023, the House of Commons public accounts committee has warned.

The Ministry  of Justice has injected £2m into boosting the development of lawtech via a government-funded network that backs tech start-ups.

Enhancing access to justice appears to be ancillary to the court modernisation programme rather than its central goal, MPs warned yesterday.

The EU is pumping in £4m to fund an innovation lab at a south Wales law school which will carry out research into artificial intelligence and other legal tech innovations.

Oxford University has been awarded a government grant of £213,000 to research the people rather than the technology behind the legaltech boom.

The buzz around distributed ledger technology, including blockchain, is much more than hype and the tech will eventually transform conveyancing and probate, a leading academic has indicated.

Lawtech start-ups in the UK are not addressing the needs of in-house corporate counsel, although investors will back them because the sector is viewed as less susceptible to a downturn.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service has come under fire by lawyers giving evidence to MPs for failing to assess the impact of its court reforms and adopting a “carry on regardless” approach.