The Future of Law Reflections and Predictions

The Future of Law: Reflections and Predictions marks the 30th anniversary of Richard Susskind's seminal work on the transformation of legal services. First published in 1996, the original edition argued that technology would fundamentally reshape legal practice and the administration of justice—an idea that many lawyers at the time dismissed. Three decades on, with artificial intelligence now advancing at a remarkable speed, those predictions have taken on renewed significance.

This anniversary edition reproduces the original text in full and unaltered, offering readers a rare opportunity to revisit the foundations of modern thinking about legal technology. Alongside the classic chapters, Susskind provides new commentary for each, reflecting on what was argued thirty years ago, assessing how these ideas have endured, and considering their implications for the years ahead.

In addition to looking back, the book offers an entirely new restatement of Susskind's current views on the future of law, with particular focus on the likely impact of AI on legal work, legal institutions, and access to justice. It situates contemporary developments in a broader historical context, helping readers understand how far the legal world has come—and how profoundly it may yet change.

Clear, authoritative, and forward-looking, The Future of Law: Reflections and Predictions is essential reading for practitioners, policymakers, technologists, academics, and anyone interested in the evolving relationship between law and digital technology.

Richard Susskind, President, Society for Computers and Law

Richard Susskind CBE KC (Hon) is widely recognised as the world's leading authority on the future of law and legal technology. He was educated at the University of Glasgow, where he gained a first-class honours degree in law, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he completed a DPhil in law and computers (AI). He has worked across the private, public, educational, and charitable sectors. From 1998 to 2023, he served as Technology Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice. He is President of the Society for Computers and Law and holds professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Strathclyde. Professor Susskind is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British Computer Society, and he has received three national honours: CBE, OBE, and KC (Hon).

IntroductionPART ONE. THE THEORY1. A Law Unto Itself2. The Advance of IT3. Law as InformationPART TWO. THE TECHNOLOGIES4. Enabling Techniques5. Leading ApplicationsPART THREE. THE PRACTICALITIES6. Case-Studies7. Critical Success FactorsPART FOUR. THE VISION8. Law's Future