Insights
Plain-language AI for UK firms.
This is where the free education lives, the writing and the podcast that explain AI for UK firms without the jargon. Every piece ends with somewhere sensible to go next, whether that is a two-minute readiness check or a short conversation.
New to the subject? Start with the complete guide to AI for law firms.
Articles and podcast
GPT-5.6 goes public, what your firm does now
OpenAI has released GPT-5.6 to everyone after weeks of government limits. The capability jump is real. Your firm's duty to check and protect is not.
Automated decisions, AI and your law firm
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 moved automated decision-making from prohibition to permission with safeguards. What that change lets your firm build, and what it demands in return.
ICO AI and data protection guidance for law firms
The ICO's guidance on AI and data protection maps every UK GDPR principle onto AI systems. Here is what a law firm should take from it.
The judiciary's AI guidance, read for law firms
The judiciary's AI guidance tells judges how to approach these tools. Read closely, it also tells a law firm how the bench will read AI-assisted work.
Multi-model legal AI, what your firm should ask
The larger legal AI platforms now run on several models at once and route work between them. That shifts your due diligence from which model to how the platform handles your data.
AI in court documents, the CJC's emerging line
The Civil Justice Council has signalled that solicitors who draft court documents with AI face no new disclosure rule, because the named lawyer already carries the responsibility.
When not using AI becomes negligence
The UK Jurisdiction Taskforce says a professional can be liable for using AI badly, and for failing to use it where a competent practitioner would have.
When your AI can send email in the firm's name
AI assistants can now send email, book meetings and file documents in your practice systems. Write access is a decision, not an upgrade.
The EU AI Act deadline that touches UK firms
From 2 August 2026 the EU begins enforcing its rules on general AI models. The transparency duties reach beyond the EU, and your vendor checks get sharper.
What clients now expect AI to do to your fees
New Deloitte research finds most in-house counsel want lower bills from their firms' use of AI, and expect the hourly rate to give way to fixed and value based pricing.
When your AI assistant works while you sleep
AI assistants now run on their own, in the background and from a phone. For a firm that raises fresh questions about confidentiality, supervision and control.
Mazur, AI and the question of conducting litigation
The Court of Appeal settled who may supervise litigation work. It left open whether an AI tool that makes case decisions crosses a line the law reserves for people.
Verify before you file
The count of AI hallucination cases keeps climbing. A simple check between the AI draft and the filing is now part of your duty to the court.
The SRA's rewritten supervision guidance
The regulator has expanded its supervision guidance from nine pages to twenty-four. A named authorised person must stay accountable for AI-assisted work.
A court's warning on AI hallucinations, and who stays accountable
A ruling found a firm had misled the court through AI hallucinations, and set out plainly where accountability sits.
When your AI disappears for nineteen days
A capable AI tool vanished for about nineteen days under export controls. For a firm that had built it into daily work, that is a continuity problem.
Fable 5 and Mythos 5, pulled and restored
Anthropic's most capable models were suspended for about nineteen days under US export controls, then restored. Here is what happened and why it matters.
Claude Sonnet 5, and what a cheaper, sharper model means for your firm
Anthropic has released Claude Sonnet 5, close to its top model in capability at a lower price. Here is what that shift means for a law firm.
The SRA and AI, what the rules require of you
Where your regulatory duties bite when you put AI to work, and how to stay on the right side of them.
Client confidentiality when using AI tools
How to keep client data inside the firm, choose tools that respect it, and prove that you did.
Choosing legal AI tools for the small firm
A buyer's guide for telling substance from hype before you sign anything.
Stopping AI mistakes reaching your advice
Why general models invent cases and citations, and the checks that keep a fabricated authority out of a letter or a filing.
UK GDPR when client data meets AI
Lawful basis, data minimisation and the question every small firm should ask a vendor: where does our client data go, and who can read it.
The real cost and return of legal AI
Licences, training and the hours saved on research and drafting, worked through for a firm of two to twenty fee earners.
Writing an AI use policy your team will follow
A short, plain policy is the difference between staff guessing and staff knowing. Here is what a workable AI policy for a small firm contains.
Where AI helps with drafting, and where it does not
AI drafts quickly and confidently. The skill is knowing which drafts to trust and which to treat as a starting point only.
AI for legal research without the risk
A general chatbot is the wrong tool for legal research. A tool built on real law is a different proposition, used with care.
Training your team to use AI responsibly
A tool is only as safe as the people using it. Short, practical training is what turns a policy on paper into habit.
Professional indemnity and AI, what insurers expect
Your insurer has a view on how you use AI, even if they have not said so yet. It is worth getting ahead of the question.
Moving client data across borders with AI
Many AI tools process data outside the United Kingdom. When client data crosses a border, the UK GDPR has something to say about it.
Keeping clients informed when you use AI
Clients are entitled to know how their matter is handled. Where AI plays a part, a little candour protects the relationship and the retainer.
Document review and disclosure with AI
Reviewing a large set of documents is where AI can save the most time, and where a careless approach can do the most damage.
AI in conveyancing for the smaller firm
Conveyancing runs on volume and tight margins, which is exactly why AI is tempting, and why the duties around it need care.
AI in family law, sensitivity and safeguards
Family work is among the most sensitive a firm handles. AI can help with the load, but the data deserves particular care.
The confidentiality trap in AI note-takers
AI meeting assistants are everywhere, and they quietly record and send client conversations to a third party. That is the trap.
Cyber security when you adopt AI
Every new tool is a new door into the firm. AI tools are no different, and a few basics keep them from becoming a way in.
Marketing your firm with AI, honestly
AI can write your marketing in minutes. The duty not to mislead means you still have to stand behind every word.
Retention and deletion when AI holds your records
If an AI tool holds copies of client data, your retention and deletion duties follow the data into the tool.
Supervising staff who use AI
The duty to supervise does not pause because a junior used a tool. If anything, AI makes good supervision matter more.
The contracts to read before you buy AI
The demonstration sells the tool. The contract decides whether it is safe for a law firm to use.
AI and access to justice for the small firm
Used well, AI can let a small firm serve clients it could not afford to serve before. That is a quieter benefit worth naming.
Building your firm's AI roadmap for the year ahead
Adopting AI well is a sequence, not a single decision. A simple roadmap keeps the firm moving without overreaching.
News from the firm
Where the firm is headed, and a talk we can bring to yours.
Heracles CS plans a London base at Mayfair
Heracles CS is moving its registered office to Mayfair, with Dubai and New York to follow.
A plain-language guide to the SRA and AI
Our guide to what the regulator expects when a firm puts AI to work is part of the Insights library.
Saqib Khan on AI for the smaller practice
A talk on adopting AI safely in firms of two to twenty fee earners, from duties first to a tool that earns its place.
The list
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