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07 July 2011 / Wouter Goedkoop
Issue: 7473 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology
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Come together

Wouter Goedkoop examines the smart choices in document sharing technology

Changes in regulation such as the Legal Services Act and the Jackson Review mean that UK law firms are re-examining the way in which they work with clients. Collaboration and transparency are fast becoming the watchwords of the legal services industry, but organisations on both sides of the equation are beginning to learn that while they have no choice but to work more closely together, a new set of risks is emerging around the technology that they use to share and work on documents.

Close collaboration takes place across all legal procedures, particularly within financial activities such as inital public offerings (IPOs) and mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Documents such as information memoranda and prospectuses need to be worked on by a range of stakeholders, including bankers, lawyers, executive directors and communications specialists. The traditional approach to drafting those documents has always been to share paper or electronic documents, with all of the formatting, version control and last minute redrafting that goes with them.

Apart

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

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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