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06 May 2016 / Greg Wildisen
Issue: 7697 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Practising on auto-pilot

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Did the Susskinds get it right? Not quite, as Greg Wildisen explains

The main thrust of Richard Susskind’s latest blockbuster (co-authored with his son Daniel) is that we are on the brink of fundamental and irreversible change in the way that professionals make their expertise available to society (The Future of the Professions: How Technology will Transform the Work of Human Experts, Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind). Naturally such a contention makes this book compelling reading for anyone interested in understanding how this change will likely affect their own profession or industry. Most of us will have a copy of the book, which is organised into three parts: change; theory; and implications. But what have we learnt from it?

Part 1—Change

Some professions, notably the legal profession, are far less advanced in their use of technology than others. For example both the health profession and architects have adopted significantly more sophisticated technology to better serve their clients. One can only assume therefore, that when the inevitable changes commence for law, that change will be even more dramatic than in other professions. The authors

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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