Abstract Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) replace human lawyering? The answer is no. Despite worries that AI is getting so sophisticated that it could take over the profession, there is little cause for concern. Indeed, the surge of AI in the legal field has crystalized the real essence of effective lawyering. The lawyer’s craft goes beyond…
Automated Decision Support Technologies and the Legal Profession
Abstract A quiet revolution is afoot in the field of law. Technical systems employing algorithms are shaping and displacing professional decision making, and they are disrupting and restructuring relationships between law firms, lawyers, and clients. Decision-support systems marketed to legal professionals to support e-discovery—generally referred to as “technology-assisted review” (TAR)—increasingly rely on “predictive coding,” machine-learning…
Legal Market Landscape Report (July 2018)
Commissioned by the State Bar of California, July 2018, Professor William D. Henderson The Bar contracted with Professor William D. Henderson to conduct a landscape analysis of the current state of the legal services market, including new technologies and business models used in the delivery of legal services, with a special focus on enhancing access…
Independent review of legal services regulation in England and Wales
The Centre for Ethics and Law in the UCL Faculty of Laws is undertaking a fundamental review of the current regulatory framework for legal services in England and Wales, led by Honorary Professor Stephen Mayson. The independent review is intended in part to explore the longer-term and related issues raised by the 2016 Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) ‘Legal Services…
Outcome of Hong Kong foreign lawyers consultation
The Law Society of Hong Kong has been considering changes to their foreign lawyer practising rules for the past three years. The principal proposed changes were as follows: Amendments to Rule 12(1) to clarify that a foreign lawyer may only provide a legal service which relates to the law(s) of the jurisdiction(s) stated on a…
SRA consults on proposed changes to solicitor advocate assessments and qualifying requirements
The SRA has launched a consultation on proposals designed to make sure that high standards of advocacy are provided by solicitors. Proposals include: the introduction of revised standards for the Higher Rights of Audience qualification the creation of a single, centralised Higher Rights of Audience assessment the development of more online resources to help solicitors…
Lawyer regulation reforms in the US
We recently reported on the work of the California State Bar and their proposals for regulatory reform put forward by the Task Force on Access Through Innovation of Legal Services as well as the work being done by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) Testing Task Force. In her article, ‘Re-regulating Lawyers for the 21st…
SRA resources to help solicitors prepare for new standards and regulations
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), has produced a dedicated webpage of resources for solicitors to help them prepare for the introduction of their new Standards and Regulation on 25 November. The new Standards and Regulations aim to reduce bureaucracy, simplify rules and provide greater flexibility. One of the key new requirements is for all law firm…
ICLR 2019: Day 2
The materials from Day Two, ICLR 2019, Edinburgh
ICLR 2019: Day 1
The materials from Day One, ICLR 2019, Edinburgh