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20 February 2026
Issue: 8150 / Categories: Legal News , Artificial intelligence , In Court , Technology
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NLJ this week: Justice at the algorithm’s edge

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is already embedded in the civil courts, but regulation lags behind practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ben Roe of Baker McKenzie charts a landscape where AI assists with transcription, case management and document handling, yet raises acute concerns over evidence, advocacy and even judgment-writing

Courts have warned that generative AI tools ‘are not capable of conducting reliable legal research’, while a Civil Justice Council working group considers further guidance.

Roe explores proposals for AI-assisted decision-making in low-value claims, balanced against Art 6 and legitimacy concerns.

While AI may ease backlogs and enhance efficiency, the symbolic authority of a human judge remains potent. The question is no longer whether AI will shape litigation, but on what terms.

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NEWS
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Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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