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29 March 2018 / Helen Pugh , Michael Fletcher
Issue: 7787 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Technology
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Trial technology (Pt 1)

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In the first part of a new series Michael Fletcher & Helen Pugh roadtest technology at trial

  • Technological advances are changing the way in which trials are conducted.
  • Real-time transcription is particularly well-established and is an invaluable tool.
  • E-bundles and the electronic presentation of evidence have the biggest potential.

It is impossible to ignore the impact of technology on modern life. The disruptive change which technology has brought to many industries such as the taxi and minicab industry has often occurred swiftly. So too the benefits to consumers: ten years ago, no lawyer could have arrived at court via Uber, because the company did not exist.

In contrast, the pace of technological change in the court room has been slow. The concept of ‘paperless trials’ has been around for many years, but they are (at best) rare at county court level. It is only in this decade that significant High Court trials have, sometimes, started to use electronic bundles. While the Rolls Building in London was opened

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

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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