A blueprint for 21st century justice

Compare your childhood with now and you will undoubtedly recognise the huge technological changes. Some things you may not like, but some changes will have made things easier for you and others.

We have seen the same in the workplace. Typewriters became word processors that then became case management systems with the ability to communicate more directly with clients via email and text messages. The consumers that we serve now want to interact differently with us.

The point is that as the world changes, the crucial role of lawyers helping people access justice and maintaining the rule of law has adapted to these changes.

If we step back from this round of technology led change, then the world will move on regardless, leaving the consumer with what will look like a quicker, slicker service but which is qualitatively worse because of the absence of qualified legal help.

Many of us entered our careers in law to help others. Digital change is something you will need to consider if you want to do that effectively. Of course, it is right that such change whether before proceedings or once they have begun has to be fit for purpose. Doing that means having a voice and ensuring that voice is heard.

21^st Century Justice project

It is from that position that I became involved in the Law Society’s 21^st Century Justice project. I am really pleased to see that it has now been launched as a green paper, seeking further input from as many as possible.

The Law Society has worked hard over the last year to gather points of view and evidence to be able to consider how and what role digital change can and should play in delivering access to justice. The role of solicitors is central to that.

The green paper is an opportunity to place the Law Society at the forefront of the discussions in this area, which is exactly where solicitors and consumers need them to be: ensuring that the core role of the law in society – and solicitors in delivering that – is not lost in a rush to leverage the benefits of digitalisation.

I have recently been appointed as the legal expert member of the Online Procedure Rule Committee, which will be at the heart of driving digitalisation in the court system and pre-action space for civil, family and tribunal cases.

There is a clear direction of travel, and the green paper provides important new evidence about what consumers would like and what has been less successful about the approach taken to the building of the existing strands of digital reform.

As a personal injury lawyer, with a long interest in procedure and digital issues, I have been clear that there are lessons to be learned from the implementation of the Official Injury Claim Portal, or whiplash portal.

Despite being aimed at lay users, Ministry of Justice analysis shows 91% of its users are professional.

There was no attempt to launch it with the necessary technology to link the system with the existing case management systems of law firms. It continues to be a source of delays that did not exist before.

Research commissioned by the 21^st Century Justice project with members using the Public Family Law Portal, Damages Claims Portal and Probate portal highlights the extent of similar issues – huge delays and inefficiencies caused by double keying between systems, technical issues and more – with clients ultimately paying the price.

If we are to fix these issues, we need evidence like this to make the case to government for closer working – not just with solicitors, but with the public and the advice sector – to develop and test further digital reforms.

That research is also crucial as it looks at the views of the consumer and tells us that what they want is to be able to resolve disputes in a simple and affordable way.

It also makes it clear that even where a process is designed that is easy to navigate, they still want advice on the merits of their case and the legal issues in it.

Solicitors fundamentally do that role, but we must recognise that to continue being the cornerstone of the justice system, we have to adapt how we work to provide affordable quality services in a digital era.

An online triage system, as explored in the green paper, has potential benefits:

• It could save solicitors the time currently needed to assess cases which is unremunerated where the claim does not proceed.
• If developed appropriately, it could ensure the potential client understands what the solicitor needs to assess their case.
• A system that identifies and deals with large numbers of disputes, or currently unmet legal need, will identify that a proportion of those cases will require a solicitor. If so, there may be additional work for solicitors where they can add value for the consumer.
• If that also leads to more cases being resolved before court proceedings are needed, it could also help with the current court backlogs.

The potential benefits are large.

So, the green paper is, I hope, the start of a larger conversation between the Law Society and its members. I would wholeheartedly encourage engagement and sharing of views with them.

Brett Dixon is a solicitor at Scott-Moncrieff & Associates