About Jonathan White Jonathan White is Legal & Compliance Director at National Accident Helpline, having joined the firm in 2010 following 12 years of practice as a solicitor specialising in complex litigation, including brain and spinal injury. He has received accreditations as an expert from both the Law Society and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), where he is a Senior Litigator Emeritus. About National Accident Helpline National Accident Helpline is a leading UK provider of personal injury advice, services and support, established in 1993. Its advisors are based in the Personal Injury Advice Centre in Kettering, though the firm also maintains a network of specialist personal injury solicitors across the UK, working on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis. Contact Jonathan White Legal & Compliance Director National Accident Helpline Bevan House, Kettering Parkway, Kettering Venture Park, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN15 6XR, UK Tel: +44 08004 561063 www.national-accident-helpline.co.uk Manchester University study disagreed with the suggestion that learning to use legal technology would be easy. These issues will now need to be overcome, or firms could be asked to swallow the difference. What is clear is as AI becomes more prevalent, the focus will surely turn to how humans interact with it. Why Future Legal Minds Must Consider AI We have recently reopened our annual essay competition, one of the leading law essay competitions in the UK. This year’s topic was inspired by the launch of ChatGPT and several other AI platforms, asking students to get to grips with the role it can play in improving outcomes in the legal system. As AI has dominated the headlines recently, we are asking students to look past the headlines and consider those benefits, with the best answers displaying a real understanding of the issues facing the legal sector currently and how we might realistically solve them. The following is this year’s Future Legal Mind Question: “Sir Geoffrey Vos, the Master of the Rolls, has said there is a “real possibility that AI may become more intelligent and capable than humans” and that robots could even one day help resolve court disputes. To what extent do you believe AI could ever replace the role of human judges? And what would be the benefits or potential drawbacks of integrating artificial intelligence in this way?” These are topics all lawyers entering the industry should now be considering – not only how technology can help us adapt and improve our practices, but also the incentives behind them. The 2023 National Accident Helpline annual essay competition has reopened looking for the next Future Legal Mind. Interested applicants can enter on the National Accident Helpline website. includes any technology that aims to support supplement or replace traditional methods for legal services, while more than a third said they do not use legal tech at all or do so highly infrequently. These reports demonstrate the transformation many speak of has not been as rapid as many might think. The fixed costs reforms provide a clear business case for adopting more legal technology and embracing the new wave of artificial intelligence tools. They finally provide a clear connection between the benefits to the organisation as a whole, and the benefits to the individual. Whereas before, senior management will not have seen investing in technology or using artificial intelligence as a strategic priority, now it is fundamental to the bottom line. In many cases, there may have been a lack of confidence in doing so. Nearly a quarter of respondents to the SPECIAL FEATURE 41 Whereas before, senior management will not have seen investing in technology or using artificial intelligence as a strategic priority, now it is fundamental to the bottom line.
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