Posts Tagged ‘computers and the law’
Lawtech: support for innovation in the delivery of legal services
I have recently posted a number of items relating to the application of information technologies in the delivery of legal services.
Another source of information and support for the development of technology in the delivery of legal services may be found at Lawtech – part of a range of initiatives that have been formed under the overall Tech Nation label. (Other activities of Tech Nation relate to, for example, the finance sector, AI, cybersecurity, the net zero economy.)
The objective of the organisation is to support new companies wanting to develop new services in the areas covered by Tech Nation. Considerable innovation has occurred in recent years in the ways in which financial services are delivered. The challenge is to see how the provision of legal services can similarly be transformed.
The Technation website states:
The legal and tech community have the opportunity and responsibility to restructure and reinvent legal services, to meet and exceed the evolving demands of business and society, in our digital world.
LawtechUK is an initiative that will help transform the UK legal sector through tech
This work is supported by a Lawtech Delivery Panel (LTDP), chaired by Christina Blacklaws, a former President of the Law Society.
This is a government-backed initiative bringing together legal sector leaders and experts from government, the judiciary, academia and industry in a single forum, to support the digital transformation of the UK legal sector. The LTDP act as an important advisory board to LawtechUK
An introduction to LawTech may be found at https://technation.io/lawtechuk/
Law tech companies that have been supported through Tech Nation are listed at https://technation.io/lawtechdatacommons/lawtech-startups-and-scaleups/
Further impetus for these developments has been given by an important report published by the Law Society in October 2019 on the importance for law firms of Law Tech. In particular, it offers encouragment to solicitors in small firms and sole practitioners to take Lawtech seriously.
The Law Society Report may be downloaded at https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/campaigns/lawtech/guides/introduction-to-lawtech
Computers and the delivery of legal services – the Society for Computers and Law
It is not hard to imagine that the use of computers will increasingly impact on the ways in which legal and dispute resolution services are provided. Many will resist such developments, not least because they will threaten existing ways of workings with which people are familiar.
But those thinking about how the world of legal practice will develop over the short to medium term should be aware of what is happening and how developments may affect the future, not just in England of course, but universally.
In this context, those starting their legal studies should be aware of the Society for Computers and Law.
The Society’s website explains that it was established in 1973 “to promote the use and understanding of information technology (IT) in the context of the law”. For the first twenty years of its existence it focused more on the technical aspects of IT in use to support legal practices. Since then its focus has shifted more to the practice of IT law as a specialist subject as this has evolved to encompass new issues like the world wide web and digital media.
As a charity, the objects of the Society are
(1) The advancement of education of the public in the fields of: a. information technology law and other related legal subjects; b. information technology as applied to the practice of the law; and c. the law, by the use of information technology.
(2) The promotion of the sound development, administration and knowledge of the law relating to information technology and related legal subjects, both generally and by research and study concerning the same.
The issues which are currently at the forefront of their efforts at the start of the 21st century include:
Operational effectiveness: ranging from the choice of hardware and operating systems through to software selection and development for both lawyers and support teams.
Legal matters: such as data protection, computer contracts and software ownership.
The administration of justice: the impact of IT on the Courts.
Education: promoting the benefits at all levels that the use of information technology has to the legal profession as a whole.
The Society is currently engaged in an important exercise to promote the development of TechLaw in the legal curriculum.
Further information is available at the Society’s website at https://www.scl.org/society
Remote/online courts – worldwide developments
Over recent years, there have been significant moves towards the use of Information Techologies in the delivery of legal and dispute resolution services. The Covid 19 pandemic has provided a sharp impetus towards the adoption of new practices and procedures, given the difficulties of holding trials in traditional court-room settings arising from the need for social distancing.
Under the leadership of Prof Richard Susskind, a consortium of groups interested in the development of on-line courts has created a brilliant website, Remote Courts.org, which provides an extensive clearing-house of information about developments around the world.
One of the primary objectives of the website is to try to ensure that, as ideas emerge, wheels are not unnecessarily re-invented. There is now a great deal of international experience which can be drawn on, and this is expanding rapidly.
The site is available at https://remotecourts.org/
Martin Partington: Introduction to the English Legal System 15th ed 2021
Oxford University Press Learning Link Resources
Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System 