Technology

Online dispute resolution such as that used for low-value disputes by eBay could be the only way of ensuring access to justice in moderate-sized claims in future – but the Bar Council is trying to find an alternative that retains hearings, according to the president of the Supreme Court.

The Legal Software Suppliers Association has ended its agreement with conveyancing portal Free2Convey, it has emerged. Free2Convey was set up by the LSSA last autumn as a rival to the Law Society’s failed conveyancing portal Veyo.

Taylor Vinters will this week implement artificial intelligence contract review software developed by a law tech company that the law firm has invested in. Last month another tech investment by the firm, Pekama, launched a mobile app

There is a “disturbing level of tunnel vision” among law firms when it comes to adopting modern customer service standards, which could ultimately make the difference between success and failure, according to a report published today. It said that in an ever competitive market, law firms that are not thriving may only have a brief chance to turn things around before it is too late.

Eliminating lawyers from the dispute resolution process should not be one of the aims of the online court (OC), the group that first proposed it has told Lord Justice Briggs. At the same time, it said the OC should be seen as paving the way for a court service that is “a blend of online service and conventional courtroom activity”.

Not involving expert conveyancers sufficiently was one of several fundamental failings that led to the collapse of the Law Society’s Veyo project, which has cost solicitors £7m, a review has concluded. External consultants said there was not one single decision or mistake which resulted in Veyo’s demise.

There will be more lawyers in the future, not fewer, the head of Rocket Lawyer UK has predicted. Mark Edwards said that the size of the legal services market would grow, and the playing field between regulated and unregulated law firms be levelled.

Conveyancers may need to be placed under extra duties of care so as to reduce the risk of fraudulent changes being made to the Land Register, the Law Commission has suggested. A major review of the Land Registration Act 2002 also put forward ways the law could encourage the development of electronic conveyancing.

The spread of virtual assistants will not remove the need for lawyers but it will reduce their number, the chief executive of Riverview Law has predicted. Karl Chapman said he was “amazed” by the number of lawyers doing things they did not need to do.

NextLaw Labs, the business accelerator set up by global law firm Dentons, has invested in an IT product which claims to improve the transparency of fees and cement the bond between lawyers and corporate clients. Meanwhile, another of its investments, AI venture Ross, is opening up to more law firms.

A team of computer coding specialists from magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have won a groundbreaking ‘hackathon’ to create an IT-based product of use to Hackney Law Centre, with a multi-lingual access to justice website built from scratch in just 24 hours.

There is a big gap in the way partners and fee-earners at medium-sized law firms view where they work, including “an exaggerated sense of progressiveness among decision-makers”, a new report has found. Partners were far more confident than fee-earners that their firm had a “clear strategy for the future”.

Law firms that fail to prepare for change are likely to become “no longer sustainable” beyond a “tipping point” around the year 2020, a report by accountants Deloitte has predicted. It said fewer “traditional lawyers” would be needed in the future, but there would be more sales executives, project managers and technology experts.

Responses to Lord Justice Briggs’ recommendation to create an Online Court (OC) have pitted sceptical solicitors and barristers against others who have given the scheme a more generous reception. Lawyers were worried about the impact of a change in the approach to justice represented by the OC, and the dangers of removing them from it.

A global study into a key element behind artificial intelligence (AI) and using big data in the legal sphere has received the green light and €1.2m of European funding. Meanwhile, in a related development, Deloitte, has undertaken what is thought to be the world’s largest deployment so far of AI in contract analysis.