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06 May 2016 / Greg Wildisen
Issue: 7697 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Practising on auto-pilot

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Did the Susskinds get it right? Not quite, as Greg Wildisen explains

The main thrust of Richard Susskind’s latest blockbuster (co-authored with his son Daniel) is that we are on the brink of fundamental and irreversible change in the way that professionals make their expertise available to society (The Future of the Professions: How Technology will Transform the Work of Human Experts, Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind). Naturally such a contention makes this book compelling reading for anyone interested in understanding how this change will likely affect their own profession or industry. Most of us will have a copy of the book, which is organised into three parts: change; theory; and implications. But what have we learnt from it?

Part 1—Change

Some professions, notably the legal profession, are far less advanced in their use of technology than others. For example both the health profession and architects have adopted significantly more sophisticated technology to better serve their clients. One can only assume therefore, that when the inevitable changes commence for law, that change will

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers to be joined by leading family law set, 4 Brick Court, this summer

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Real estate and construction energy offering boosted by partner hire

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Firm bolsters real estate team with partner hire in Birmingham

NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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