The University of Oxford's Professor Rebecca Williams will deliver the closing keynote at this year's LegalEdCon, a virtual event, taking place on Thursday 14 May. Williams will use the slot to announce the findings of Oxford's'Unlocking the Potential of Artificial Intelligence for English Law' research project. She will focus in particular on the future of legal education in relation to changes to the legal job market resulting from implementation of lawtech, changes in the business models of law firms and developments in the law brought about by technology. Williams, along with fellow Oxford Uni akamdeics Ewart Keep and Václav Janeček, are responsible for the legal education stream of Oxford's UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded AI for English Law project. The project as a whole brings together researchers from computer science, law, economics, education and the Saïd Business School to examine the potential and limitations of using AI in support of legal services.

Ahead of'The future of litigation' on Thursday, RPC's Daniel Wyatt tells Tom Connelly how the Pyrrho case is redefining what it means to be a litigation lawyer Everyone's talking about artificial intelligence (AI), about what it can actually do, about how far it will go, and about whether trainee lawyers and paralegals' jobs are at risk. Daniel Wyatt, a litigation and arbitration specialist at RPC, has witnessed the rise and rise of AI within the legal sector first-hand. Wyatt -- who joined RPC as an associate in 2012 -- recognises that AI's impact on litigation and the legal sector is hugely important but stresses that it is more about a change in focus, not the death knell for junior posts. There will always be a need for junior lawyers. I suspect that the impact of AI will be more a case of re-distributing the work that paralegals and trainees undertake.

Magic circle giant Clifford Chance is the latest City outfit to embrace the mysterious world of artificial intelligence (AI), striking a deal with Canadian software provider Kira Systems. According to the Canary Wharf based firm, the intelligent software will help its lawyers quickly analyse contracts, identify potential legal issues, improve speed, and, as a result, increase all round efficiency. Furthermore -- according to the software designer -- not only can Kira be put to work straight away, requiring very little set up time, she it can actually learn on the job, growing in intelligence through training provided by the firm's lawyers. Our clients are under substantial pressure to reduce legal spend. At the same time, they need more support to manage the increasing risks and complex issues that their companies are facing.

Developments in technology over the past few years have revolutionised the way consumers operate, and this is starting to have some pretty interesting effects on the legal industry. A particularly exciting technological development is the emergence of online access to free legal help. One free help site which holds immense potential to transform the legal industry is the site created by a 19 year-old student called Joshua Browder. The site helps to advise claimants on a range of low-level legal issues such as reclaiming Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), seeking compensation for flight delays and fighting parking tickets. This differs from other online legal advice sites such as AskALawyer and Lawyers Online because instead of relying on real life legal professionals to provide advice to site users, Browder's site uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to advise potential claimants.