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The tipping point

17 February 2017 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7734 / Categories: Opinion , Legal services , Technology
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Roger Smith explores the ramifications of innovation & technology on the legal sector

Call it the “Rise of the Robots”, “The Second Machine Age” or “The Fourth Industrial Revolution”—whatever fancy phrase you like—but it is pretty clear that our economy, politics and even the practice of law itself is changing under our feet. The potential impact is staggering. Losses of between a third and a half of all existing jobs in the economies of countries like the UK and US are predicted. And, legal services—for better and for worse—will be affected just as much as car manufacturing. A couple of years ago, this kind of assertion would provoke an avalanche of nay-sayers. Now, you can see a growing realisation that a tipping point is approaching.

The wind of change

One indication of the changing climate is the slew of initiatives emanating from a range of legal institutions around the world. Over the last year, both the Law Society and the American Bar Association have produced sustained analysis of the future. The Society followed up with

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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