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16 January 2020 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7870 / Categories: Opinion
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‘Get online courts done’

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Roger Smith believes the devil is in the detail for  delivering online courts & justice

In the midst of recent momentous political times, the Conservative Party’s mantra ‘Get Brexit done’ won over a majority of voters. Richard Susskind’s latest book has its own intractable mantra: ‘Get online courts done’ (Online Courts and the Future of Justice, Oxford University Press).

Professor Susskind has always been a persuasive writer: now he has perfected a steamroller style that flattens opponents, doubters and waverers in a red hot torrent of argument. It is good fun. Very readable. And very human. Professor Susskind opens by admitting that he often jokes that he writes ‘the same book every four years’. There is a bit of truth in that: he is not alone in making that joke. And, his next book—for which I doubt that we will wait the full four years—should be rather different because the world is moving on from the binary question of whether online courts are good or bad to how and in what

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
The legal profession’s claim to be a ‘guardian of fairness’ is under scrutiny after stark findings on gender imbalance and opaque progression. Writing in NLJ this week, Joshua Purser of No5 Barristers’ Chambers and Govindi Deerasinghe of Global 50/50 warn that leadership remains dominated by a narrow elite, with men holding 71% of top court roles
A legal challenge to police disclosure rules has failed, reinforcing a push for transparency in policing. In NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth examines a case where the Metropolitan Police required officers to declare membership of groups like the Freemasons
Bereavement leave is undergoing a quiet but profound transformation. Writing in NLJ this week, Robert Hargreaves of York St John University explains how the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a day-one right to leave for a wider range of losses, alongside new provisions for pregnancy loss and bereaved partners
Courts are beginning to grapple with whether AI-generated material is legally privileged—and the answers are mixed. In this week's issue of NLJ, Stacie Bourton, Tom Whittaker & Beata Kolodziej of Burges Salmon examine US rulings showing how easily privilege can be lost
New guidance seeks to bring order to the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Minesh Tanna and David Bridge of Simmons & Simmons set out a framework stressing ‘transparency’, ‘explainability’ and ‘reliability’
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