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23 June 2023 / Roger Smith
Issue: 8030 / Categories: Opinion , Technology , Profession , Legal aid focus
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Tomorrow’s lawyers: don’t despair

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No matter the advances of legal tech in widening access to justice, there will always be a place for human advisers, as Roger Smith explains

Richard Susskind (pictured) ploughs a straight furrow. He has travelled through The Future of Law (1996), Transforming the Law (2000) and The End of Lawyers (2010). With a study on The Future of the Professions (2015) with his son, Daniel, his writing has even become a bit of a family business. In March, he published the third edition of Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to your Future (Oxford University Press, 2023). It all amounts to a solid and commendable body of work. He has battled his way to widespread acceptance of views once seen as extreme. But, perhaps at least in the access to justice field, Professor Susskind’s thoughts might need a little refinement.

Professor Susskind is engaging, polemical and interesting. He is also—on the big issues—right. His main thesis has remained constant. The ‘legal market is in a remarkable state of flux’ (the words

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Withers—Sophie Barrett-Brown

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Withers drives further growth in its UK immigration team with new partner Sophie Barrett-Brown

Venus Legal—Esther Amoako

Venus Legal—Esther Amoako

Venus Legal invests in next generation of legal talent as specialist litigation practice grows

Fisher Phillips—Catrina Smith

Fisher Phillips—Catrina Smith

Fisher Phillips continues momentum in London with arrival of Catrina Smith

NEWS
Restrictions on workplace non-disclosure agreements could make settlements slower, more complex and more expensive when reforms expected in 2027 take effect
Private prosecutors face closer scrutiny under Crown Prosecution Service guidance designed to strengthen accountability and consistency when intervention is requested
Foreign states cannot necessarily claim immunity for cyber operations launched abroad against computers in Britain, following a divided Supreme Court ruling
Defendants who make unsupported complaints about their lawyers risk losing legal aid while confiscation proceedings continue without representation
Lawyers advising Russian clients face different sanctions restrictions across the UK, EU and US, despite their shared objective of increasing pressure on Russia
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