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‘Technology and the Legal Profession: An Analytical Study’
Word Count: 2,000
1
, Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….…3
Literature Review………………………………………………………………………….6
Methodology………………………………………………………………………….…....8
Statement of Chapters……………………………………………………………….….9
Timeline…………………………………………………………………………………..….10
Bibliography………………………………………………………………….………….…11
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, Introduction
The evolution of technology in the legal profession has undoubtedly accelerated since the
beginning of the pandemic. When courts first shut their doors across the UK in March 2020,
the use of technology in the court system was said to be “virtually below sea level.”1 However,
the resilience of the court system allowed the use of virtual trials to become the new norm2;
indeed, by 24 April 2020, 90% of the 3,200 hearings on that day in England and Wales took
place virtually.3 Nevertheless, virtual trials were a relatively new concept for many judges and
legal professionals. When legal professionals of today were studying their LLB, they were
mesmerised by the idea that the main form of communication between solicitor and client
would be by e-mail.4 Furthermore, Susskind5 notes that the “working practices of lawyers and
judges have not changed much since the time of Charles Dickens.”6 Inevitably, online court
sessions were being hacked7, interrupted by mistakenly invited guests8, or clients were being
represented by lawyers masquerading behind humorous filters9.
Despite a few flaws in the administration of online justice during the pandemic, there have
been calls to extend the use of online courts to ease backlog and the “weakened justice
1
House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution, Oral evidence: Constitutional implications of
Covid-19 (3 June 2020). Stated by Professor Dame Hazel Genn of the University College London.
2
Justice Committee, Coronavirus (COVID-19): The impact on courts (07-2020 HC 4) 38-74
<https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmselect/cmjust/519/51907.htm#footnote-068>
accessed 2 November 2021
3
HMCTS weekly operational management information - audio and video hearings May 2020 to April 2021
(13 May 2021)
<https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/98
5556/20210505_Table_3_from_20200518_to_20210425.csv/preview> accessed 2 November 2021
4
Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind, The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform
the Work of Human Experts (OUP 2016) 3
5
Professor Richard Susskind OBE is President of the Society for Computers and Law, Strategy and
Technology Advisor to the Lord Chief Justice, and Chair of the Advisory Board of the Oxford Internet
Institute.
6
Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind, The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform
the Work of Human Experts (OUP 2016) 67
7
‘Twitter hack teen's court date 'Zoombombed' with porn’ BBC News (London, 5 August 2020)
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53667664> accessed 2 November 2021
8
Anna Khoo, ‘Remote hearings for family courts 'horribly cruel'’ BBC News (London, 4 June 2020)
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52854168> accessed 2 November 2021
9
Adam Gabbatt, ‘Texas lawyer, trapped by cat filter on Zoom call, informs judge he is not a cat’ The
Guardian (London, 10 February 2021) <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/09/texas-
lawyer-zoom-cat-filter-kitten> accessed 2 November 2021
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