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20 July 2018 / Keith Plowman
Issue: 7805 / Categories: Features , Profession , Data protection , Technology
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Blue sky thinking

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Keith Plowman reports on cloud technology & the road to GDPR compliance.

  • Under the GDPR, no set of chambers or barrister can ignore the need to work in a secure manner that protects their documentation and data.
  • While the cloud and mobile solutions will never replace or transform all of the services that barristers can offer their clients, they will help them adapt to the continued digitisation of the legal system and adhere to the GDPR.

Although steeped in traditional practice methodology, the legal sector continues to rise to the challenge of delivering a modern justice system and digital courtroom. Contrary to common perception, barristers’ chambers have often been quick to adopt modern working practises, including the use of IT. Lately that ‘early adoption’ has been spurred on by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a law that every organisation must abide by.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has made it clear that reducing data held on paper and the associated risks is a key focus. We’ve previously read about barristers

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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