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Levelling up access to justice (Pt 4)

08 October 2021 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7951 / Categories: Opinion
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In the final instalment of this series, Roger Smith assesses the state of not-for-profit legal tech at home & abroad

In many countries, not-for-profit agencies play a role in the delivery of access to justice. In the US, such organisations are major deliverers of civil and criminal legal services. Canada and Australia have differing mixes of private and NGO (not for profit, non-government organisation) provision. In England and Wales, though often ignored in discussion of legal aid, the not-for-profit sector plays a valuable and complex role in its delivery—from the national diagnostic and referral work of the Citizens Advice service to the more geographically spotty provision of the roughly 45 law centres still providing representation with poverty law. The deployment of technology in the not-for-profit field follows this patchwork approach.

Not-for-profit organisations are strapped for cash. They do not have the retained profits to invest in technology. Many exist hand to mouth—though their very survival during the Covid pandemic has required them to develop a capacity to work online. This

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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