Technology

The largest law firms are closing the gap with their smaller rivals on website performance but still falling behind on speed, according to the latest research.

Video hearings in certain criminal cases are more likely to lead to defendants receiving a prison sentence, a major study has found. It also highlighted the difficulties they cause defence advocates.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has called on the government to take action to reduce the risk of disabled people being wrongly convicted because of video hearings in criminal cases.

It is not appropriate for a 15-day hearing into whether a mother has harmed her seven-year-old daughter to be held remotely, the president of the Family Court has ruled.

Legal tech continues to attract investment, with money for a new wills app and the more established The Link App, but it must be able to benefit from a new coronavirus support package for tech companies.

Government schemes to help SME companies grow by offering investors tax relief exclude legal businesses and so constrict technological innovation in the market, it has been claimed.

The Legal Ombudsman is exploring whether to use big data and machine learning technology to suggest outcomes  and make recommendations in resolving complaints about lawyers.

Many of the technologies and techniques that have been “forged in the heat” of the coronavirus crisis will usurp old ways of practising when life returns to normal, Professor Richard Susskind has predicted.

A technology platform which supports survivors of domestic abuse and a chatbot helping people with learning disabilities understand their social care rights, have won the Legal Access Challenge.

An academic who was present at the first Court of Protection hearing to be conducted over Skype last month has raised concerns over its impact on relatives and witnesses.

A project has gone live enabling the global justice community to share experiences of developing remote alternatives to physical court hearings in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The take-up of many forms of lawtech are “modest” in England and Wales, and especially so for technology assisted by artificial intelligence, despite the hype around it, new research has found.

A pilot for dealing with personal injury claims online is set to launch in late spring. It will be developed during the year so claims can be completed online all the way to the final hearing.

Witnessing deeds by video link has moved a step closer after the government accepted a call to set up an industry working group to consider it, while agreeing the law already allows electronic signatures.

Female founders of legal start-ups are confronting sexism among investors, including having to answer demeaning questions like ‘have you frozen your eggs?’.