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31 October 2025 / Professor Sue Prince
Issue: 8137 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology , Rule of law , Legal services , Legal aid focus , Equality
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Digital justice in an interoperable world

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To improve access to justice, we need innovative platforms & collaborative working, writes Sue Prince
  • Digital technology has the potential to equalise access to justice.
  • The quality and reliability of information are key, and various frameworks are being considered to improve public confidence in digital tools.

The access to justice crisis is well documented. Many people cannot afford legal services and do not know where to go for help; they find the legal system complex and confusing. Backlogs, cuts to services, and a cost-of-living crisis affecting employment, housing and debt have led to a huge gap in servicing legal need and an inability to meet demand.

Innovative approaches using digital technology now have the potential to begin to equalise access to information and advice. Websites such as Divorce Online, Access Social Care, Advice Now, and platforms such as the Official Injury Portal, are increasingly offering help and support for people with legal issues.

Optimistically, it could be envisaged that in the

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Tightening the screws on JCT terminations
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
NLJ this week: Old rules, fresh warnings in employment law
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
NLJ this week: The rise of the ‘ChatGPT client’ rattles the profession
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
NLJ this week: Surrogacy children caught in succession gap
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’
NLJ this week: Online safety law at a crossroads
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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