header-logo header-logo

18 November 2016 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7723 / Categories: Opinion , Profession , Technology
printer mail-detail

Let’s get digital

nlj_7723_comment_smith

Roger Smith reports on the rise & rise of digital technology

Richard Susskind filled the lecture theatre at the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) in Lincoln’s Inn for the annual Society for Computers and Law (SCL) lecture. A text of this appears, as yet, to be unavailable, though a podcast of the lecture is accessible through the SCL website. The lecture is worth listening to partly for the breadth of the author’s vision of the impact of new technology but also for the nuances in his current position on government-driven initiatives.

Much of Professor Susskind’s analysis follows that set out in his books, most recently in The Future of the Professions, co-written with his son, Daniel. In particular, he points to the potentially transformative effects of the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in large corporate firms. All the major firms, he points out, now have alliances of one kind or another with AI providers. This will, in time disrupt the legal profession as we know it. Changes are consequently needed in

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team

NEWS
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
back-to-top-scroll