Technology

MPs have delivered a blistering verdict on the management of the issue-ridden court reform programme.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have reported that one million pleas have now been made online in the criminal courts, since the implementation of the digital plea service in 2014, as part of the HMCTS Reform Programme. 

NLJ columnist Roger Smith reviews legal technology specialist Professor Richard Susskind’s latest book through an access to justice lens, in this week’s issue.

No matter the advances of legal tech in widening access to justice, there will always be a place for human advisers, as Roger Smith explains

Despite more than half of legal employers believing it is time to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, almost 80% of law firms are not currently using AI tools, according to a recent survey.

Fortnite fans take note. Sony has made a ground-breaking patent application to make non-fungible tokens (NFTs) transferable between games and consoles. Shoosmiths partners Prakash Kerai and Joe Stephenson explore this move by Sony and explain why it is potentially revolutionary for the gaming industry, in this week’s NLJ.

Prakash Kerai & Joe Stephenson outline Sony’s potential new approach to virtual asset transfer, & the legal hurdles which could stand in the way

The Public Law Project has reported that 30 civil society groups have written to the government in order to request that the government’s use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is brought under control. 

The impact of blockchain on the legal landscape is explored in a revised issue of the Law Society’s report, ‘Blockchain: legal and regulatory guidance’, now in its third edition.

The Ministry of Justice has launched an Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC) to help guide judges, legal representatives and litigants through online court procedures.