English legal system must keep pace with crypto and AI, say lawyers

A top technology adviser to the judiciary has proposed the creation of a new institute of legal innovation that would spot gaps in the law thrown up by technologies such as crypto assets and AI, and promote the greater use of English law in global business contracts. Professor Richard Susskind, technology adviser to the Lord Chief Justice and a director of think-tank LegalUK, believes an independent body, along the lines of the Alan Turing Institute, which pioneers research into artificial intelligence, would highlight areas of law that had failed to keep up with innovation. The institute would also promote English law to global companies as the law of choice to govern transactions in new areas such as blockchain. The proposal comes as some lawyers are concerned that England’s legal sector, which employs 365,000 people, could lose out to rival centres such as Singapore and Dubai if its legislation fails to keep pace with advancing tech.

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