Lord chancellor David Lammy to announce AI legal assistants

'AI legal assistants' will be trialled in the Crown court in a bid to ‘drive productivity and boost efficiency’, the lord chancellor will  announce today. 

In a speech at London Tech Week, David Lammy MP will outline the government's vision for artificial intelligence to help modernise the criminal justice system. This will include tests of AI assistants and a tool to help identify trial-ready cases and group similar hearings together.

The AI assistants which will ‘support legal professionals and staff’ with routine casework, including research and case analysis. Before the new technology is used in the Crown courts, it will be trialled in ‘highly controlled environments that set clear standards for safe and ethical use’ before wider rollout, the Ministry of Justice said.

Law Society chief executive Ian Jeffery welcomed the announcement - but warned that the technology must be properly evaluated not become a substitute for adequate funding. 

Details on when the technology will be rolled out and who will be involved in the project are yet to be confirmed. The MoJ said it wants the technology to be up and running as soon as possible but stressed that vigorous testing will take priority.

In his speech, Lammy is due to say:  ‘Artificial intelligence has the power to transform how we live, work, and govern for the better. This impact for good can be seen in our justice system – with thousands of days of admin work saved for our probation staff, and the advent of new tools which aim to cut court backlogs and deliver swifter justice for victims.’

He will note that every probation officer in England and Wales has already been equipped with Justice Transcribe – an in-house developed AI tool which records and transcribes conversations with offenders. The technology will, it is hoped, cut the hours which probation officer spend typing up their handwritten notes. 

The MoJ said Justice Transcribe ‘could free up the equivalent of 18,750 calendar days of time every year allowing frontline staff to spend some time monitoring offenders’.

Justice Transcribe is also being trialled in the Immigration and Asylum Tribunals which will allow judges to transcribe case notes and ‘alleviate admin pressures’. Following the trial, the tool will then be considered for a wider rollout across the court and tribunal system.

Commenting on Lammy's announcement, Jeffery said: ‘For the use of AI in the Crown court to be effectve, the pilot must be thoroughly evaluated. The outcomes of these evaluations, along with the impact of AI on the justice system, should be made public.

‘While new technology should enhance access to justice, it cannot replace vital funding and additional court staff. Robust safeguards are needed to protect us all and preserve the integrity of the justice system.’

Figures published earlier this year show the Crown court backlog reached 80,203 by the end of December - a new record. However, the open caseload had increased by ’only 1%’ on the previous quarter, vice-chair of the Criminal Bar Association Andrew Thomas KC said, noting that the decline was ‘before the removal of the cap on sitting days and other measures which will help bring the backlog down’.