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08 October 2021 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7951 / Categories: Opinion
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Levelling up access to justice (Pt 4)

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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

Charles Russell Speechlys—James Paterson

Charles Russell Speechlys—James Paterson

Charles Russell Speechlys further bolsters Private Equity expertise with the appointment of James Paterson

Ellisons—Samuel Flower

Ellisons—Samuel Flower

Ellisons strengthens Rural Affairs team with senior appointment

Sidley—Carl Hotton

Sidley—Carl Hotton

Sidley adds insurance mergers and acquisitions partner to London office

NEWS
A deputy costs judge correctly exercised his discretion to allow late service rather than strike out the point of dispute, the Court of Appeal has held
Prince Harry, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and five others have lost their case against the publisher of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, in Various Claimants v Associated Newspapers [2026] EWHC 1637 (KB)
Public confidence in the justice system is being undermined by a lack of accessible, useable data, magistrates have warned
The Sentencing Council has launched draft guidelines for facilitation and endangering another person during a sea crossing to the UK
Government proposals to make independent written legal advice a prerequisite for workplace non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) may prove unworkable, according to a senior employment lawyer
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