Prep4Practice is a knowledge session designed to prepare students and junior practitioners for a career at the bar.
Topic: Digital transformation, AI and legal practice
Panel: Karen Rea, Richard Susskind, Jacob Turner and Patricia Shaw.
- Chair and speakers
Chair: Karen Rea
Karen has acted in all the fori, including The House of Lords, The Court of Appeal, The High Court, The Crown Court, The County Court and the Coroner’s Court and in the first 10 years of Call, when she also practised in Crime, Immigration and Employment Law, appearing in the Industrial Tribunal, The Immigration Tribunal, The Employment Appeal Tribunal and, in the very early days, The Magistrates Courts.
Karen now specialises only in Regulatory Law, where her extensive experience as a Legal Assessor/Adviser and as a Chair, includes both the healthcare and financial sectors, as seen below.
In October 2021, Karen had the honour of being invited by the Master of The Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, to join the Civil Justice Council’s Futures Group under the Chair of Professor Richard Susskind OBE.
Speakers and their topics
Richard Susskind
Topic: Introduction to AI in Law and what the future holds.
Professor Richard Susskind CBE KC (Hon) is the world’s most cited author on the future of legal services. He is Special Envoy for Justice and AI to the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, and has been President of the Society for Computers and Law since 2011. From 1998 to 2023, he was Technology Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. His work has been translated into 16 languages. He has written eleven books, including The Future of Law (1996), Tomorrow’s Lawyers (2013, 2017, 2023), The Future of the Professions (2015, 2022, with Daniel Susskind), and (forthcoming) – How to Think about AI: A Guide for the Perplexed (2025). In the mid-1980s, Richard wrote his doctorate on AI and law at Balliol College, Oxford. He is an Honorary Bencher at Gray’s Inn.
Jacob Turner
Topic: AI in litigation
Jacob Turner is a barrister at Fountain Court Chambers. He is the author of ‘Robot Rules: Regulating Artificial Intelligence’ (Springer, 2018) and a joint author of ‘The Law of Artificial Intelligence’ (Sweet & Maxwell, 2nd ed. 2024). Jacob has acted in some of the world’s most significant AI-related cases, including as counsel for Dr Thaler in the UK Supreme court in Thaler v Comptroller-General of Patents (the ‘AI Inventor’ case), representing the claimants in Drivers v Uber and OLA Cabs (the ‘robo-firing’ case) in the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, and defending the first company investigated by the UK data protection regulator for alleged AI bias. He has been described in the Legal 500 directory as ‘the leading barrister in the AI space’ and is listed by Chambers and Partners as a ‘Global Leader in AI’. Jacob is on the Attorney General’s Panel of Counsel and has advised the Government on various aspects of AI regulation.
Patricia (Trish) Shaw
Topic: AI and data, and the changing role of technology within the legal role.
Patricia Shaw LLB(Hons), LLM, FRSA, MIEEE, is CEO of Beyond Reach Consulting Limited based in the UK and advises globally on Responsible AI (AI/data ethics, policy, law, and governance), and Corporate Digital Responsibility.
Patricia has over 20 years’ experience as a lawyer in data, technology and regulatory/government affairs and is a registered Solicitor in England and Wales, and the Republic of Ireland. She has authored and edited several works on law and regulation, policy, ethics, and AI. She has a particular interest in algorithmic bias, autonomous decision making in high impact AI systems, privacy, and fairness, and how AI impacts on gender, religion, and belief. Her focus has predominately been areas where there is high risk impact on society such as in Finance, Health, and Education (including the impact on the future of work).
Event details
Registration Location: online / in-person
Date and registration time: Tuesday 4 March, 5.45pm
Who can attend: Open to Gray’s Inn student and barrister Members
Dress Code: Smart Casual
Cost:
- £10 students and barristers under 3 years of call
- £12 barristers
Cost online (Open to Circuit students and TQLs ONLY): £6
How to book
Book online via the Gray’s Inn Online System (GIOS).
Booking closes: 25 February 2025
Qualifying Session
Qualifying Session (QS): 1 QS
Theme: Preparation for pupillage, career development and wellbeing. Ethics, Standards and Values
Learning aims:
1. Discuss the impact of AI and other digital advancements on the legal profession
2. Consider the ethical issues raised by greater use of AI in legal practice
This QS relates to the following elements of the Professional Statement for Barristers: 1.2, 1.16, 2.6, 4.1.
Preparation required: No
To be awarded the QS for this event you are required to join the event on time and stay for the full duration of the event. Please enter your full name when joining the event so that we can record attendance and update the QS records accordingly. This can take up to two weeks.
Please see Qualifying Sessions for further information.