20-05-2025
Landmark approval for AI firm — but elsewhere a barrister comes a cropper
Two ends of the spectrum that is artificial intelligence in the law were dramatically illustrated over the past few days. On the side of progress was an announcement from the solicitors' watchdog that it had for the first time authorised a law firm that provided legal services through AI.
'While many firms are already using AI to support and deliver a range of back-office and public-facing services,' the Solicitors Regulation Authority said, it noted that was 'the first purely AI-based firm'.
But before the legal profession's AI fan club uncorked the champagne, at the other end of that spectrum was a tale of horror. Sitting in the High Court, Mr Justice Ritchie referred a case to Bar regulators after a barrister cited five 'fake'
