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22 January 2025
Issue: 8101 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Legal services , Artificial intelligence
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Survey highlights advantages of human contact in legal services

More than three-quarters (78%) of UK adults who have used a solicitor in the past five years had a positive experience, according to Law Society research.

The survey, conducted by YouGov this month on more than 2,500 adults, highlighted the advantages of human contact. While 59% said their experience would be enhanced by being able to access their legal matter on an app or online platform, 70% would not feel confident using online legal services without a lawyer’s guidance.

The public also showed reluctance to rely on artificial intelligence (AI) instead of a professional lawyer—77% said they do not trust AI to provide legal advice.

Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society, said: ‘Our profession honours tradition yet it is open to innovative solutions that address the issues we face.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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