In the Middle Ages, the famous ‘fortune-teller’ Michel de Nostredame (better known to history as ‘Nostradamus’) trod a narrow path between being burned at the stake and revered. Fortunately, modern seers have evolved into a new breed that we now call ‘futurists’, and they no longer run the risk of a fiery end.
One such futurist is probably the most famous of them all in the legal profession. In September 1996, Professor Richard Susskind CBE KC (hon) published The Future of Law: Facing the Challenges of Information Technology. It landed with a 300-page thud on the desks of many solicitors reluctant to think that change would ever catch up with them. They (indeed, I) still ran on dictation tapes, and the fax machine was the cutting edge of client communication. Susskind’s ambition was not modest. As one early reviewer observed, the book set out to project the future of legal practice across an entire professional generation.
Oxford University Press marks the anniversary
