Technology
Riley secures funding boost for law firm client app
A solicitor who shot to prominence on The Apprentice has secured a further £344,000 investment in the app she has developed to help law firms communicate more effectively with clients.
Video hearings “will not supplant” face-to-face, says HMCTS
Video hearings will not supplant face-to-face hearings in the majority of cases before the courts, even after their use is expanded, the deputy director of HMCTS has predicted.
Predictive pioneers behind CaseCrunch go separate ways
Three Cambridge law graduates behind predictive analytics specialist CaseCrunch have gone their separate ways, it has emerged.
Start-up partners with law firm to predict judges’ rulings
Litigation outcome prediction has taken a further step into the mainstream with a partnership between a major law firm and start-up crunching data on old cases.
£3m backing for lawyer’s document automation business
A legal tech business spun out of a law firm run by a former City solicitor and his technologist brother has secured £3.1m in private equity investment.
MPs cast severe doubt on court modernisation
MPs on the public accounts committee said today that they have “little confidence” that the court modernisation programme can be delivered.
Cyber security watchdog issues law firm warning
The National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, yesterday published its first report on the growing cyber threat to the legal profession.
Blockchain deployed in courts to safeguard digital evidence
The company digitising trial bundles in courts has filed a patent application to tie blockchain security to its digital evidence software to ensure records cannot be altered.
“Seismic change” on the horizon, Legal Futures roundtable hears
“Seismic change” is on the horizon for the profession because of the direction of technology, a Legal Futures roundtable on the law firm on the future has heard.
Courts Service to up the ante on digital divorce and probate
The next year of the court modernisation programme will see digital end-to-end services for divorce, probate, and money claims for under £10,000.
“Huge savings to come” from local land charge digitisation
HM Land Registry launched its new digital local land charges register last week, which will cut the time it takes to get results from days or weeks to seconds.
AI platform to help food banks and MPs refer legal problems to lawyers
An AI platform designed for businesses is to help staff at food banks and MPs’ surgeries refer legal enquiries from members of the public to lawyers in a pilot scheme this autumn.
Government puts money and influence behind lawtech industry
The Lord Chancellor last night threw his weight behind the UK’s lawtech industry, and is creating a panel to help accelerate the development of innovative technologies.
“AI not delivering for poorest” says technology reality check
Artificial intelligence, chatbots and hackathons may be developments that have great potential or are delivering exciting commercial applications, but they are doing rather less at present for access to justice.
National chambers aims to revolutionise case management IT for barristers
Innovative national chambers Clerksroom is teaming up with the likes of Microsoft and Lloyds Bank to build an end-to-end case management system for barristers.
Blog
The importance of benchmarking reports – and lessons on profitability
Regional firms reported the largest revenue growth this year (12%), outpacing their City counterparts. Yet many are not converting that growth into profitability.
Fixed recoverable costs: Sacrificing justice for predictability?
The extended fixed recoverable costs regime is failing to achieve its stated objectives. Instead of promoting fairness and efficiency, the rules are creating anomalies that undermine justice.
Expectations keep rising, so prioritise client experience
Law firms are facing growing pressure to place greater focus on client experience or risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive legal market.
