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26 September 2025
Issue: 8132 / Categories: Legal News , Technology , Legal services , Artificial intelligence , Regulatory
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NLJ this week: Small firms call for tech clarity as AI looms

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Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ

The SRA’s new research shows that while most firms now use digital basics such as e-signatures and cloud storage, only 12% have dipped into generative AI. Lawyers cite confusion over pricing, worries about security and integration, and scepticism about fast-changing tools. Yet many see technology as vital to improve efficiency, cut costs and expand access to justice.

To close the gap, the SRA’s Innovate programme is rolling out impartial guidance, FAQs and case studies, alongside events to help firms share experiences. O’Connell argues collaboration between regulators, providers and professional bodies is critical—otherwise small firms risk being stranded on the wrong side of the digital divide.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys senior leadership appointments

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths strengthens London Construction and Engineering practice with two strategic senior hires

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins announces strategic hire to deepen skills base in the social business sector

NEWS
Existing defamation law can respond to AI ‘hallucinations’, but allocating responsibility will prove harder where outputs reach users without human intervention
The High Court has upheld a rare successful serious-irregularity challenge after an arbitrator relied on an implied term neither party had advanced
Thirty years after The Future of Law shook a profession still using fax machines, its central forecast looks increasingly less like prophecy and more like description
More than 100 teams from the legal and financial services sectors competed in five sports at the 51st Law Society RFC Festival of Sport earlier this month
Part-time status need only be an effective cause of less favourable treatment, rather than the sole cause, the Supreme Court has held in Augustine v Data Cars
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