Technology
Judges, police and lawyers warn MPs over court modernisation
Judges, justice campaigners, academics and others have raised wide-ranging concerns about the government’s ambitious court reform programme in evidence submitted to MPs.
Divorce to be wholly online “within months”
Every family law practitioner will have felt the effects of court modernisation in their daily practice within a year, with the remaining parts of the divorce process moving online within months.
Blockchain trial “has potential to transform property market”
The use of blockchain software in the end-to-end conveyancing process came a step closer when a worldwide trial involving leading law firms and banks cut transactions from months to weeks.
New video hearings pilot will test “more robust software”
Video hearings are set to be piloted for a second time in the tax tribunal, this time using “robust” technology after criticisms of its reliability last year, the Senior President of Tribunals has revealed.
ICLR launches research lab to promote legal data innovation
The charity that publishes law reports for the higher courts of England and Wales yesterday launched a research lab to leverage its archive of law reports in boosting legal innovation.
Judges, not HMCTS, will have “final say” on video hearings
Judges are “embedded” in all the projects that make up the £1bn court modernisation programme and whether hearings are held by video or person will always be a matter of judicial discretion.
“Some lawyers have been suffering from GDPR fever”
Some lawyers have been suffering from “GDPR fever” over the past year and given bad advice based on limited knowledge or too cautious an approach, a leading data protection law specialist has warned.
Susskind: Lawyers wrong to think technology cannot replace them
Lawyers are wrong to think that there are tasks beyond technology that only they can carry out, Professor Richard Susskind has warned. He urged lawyers to help build the machines, not compete with them.
Let robots own property, Supreme Court justice suggests
Computers using artificial intelligence could be given separate legal personalities enabling them to own property as the law adapts to technology, a Supreme Court justice has suggested.
Call for legal AI to have “ethical black box” to explain decisions
AI should be developed in conjunction with a wide range of non-technical specialists, while an ‘ethical black box’ showing how a system made particular decisions may also be needed.
Law Commission “pauses” smart contracts project
The Law Commission has “paused” its project on smart contracts to avoid potential duplication with work being undertaken by the government-backed lawtech delivery panel.
Flight delay claims firm teams up with university to develop AI
Cheshire-based Bott & Co has unveiled a knowledge transfer partnership with the University of Manchester with the aim of incorporating artificial intelligence technology into the firm.
Court reforms “must measure impact on vulnerable litigants”
A high-powered body of experts has called for more detailed evaluations of the government’s ambitious court modernisation programme, and complained about the lack of data on its impact.
HMCTS extends court modernisation programme by a year
HM Courts and Tribunals Service has put back completion of the court modernisation programme by a year to 2023, it announced yesterday. It was originally planned to finish in 2020.
Susskind named chair of expert group to advise judges on AI
The Lord Chief Justice has set up an advisory group to provide senior judges with guidance on artificial intelligence, chaired by Professor Richard Susskind and including judges, academics and practitioners.
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
