7 Professional bodies and organisations
The Professional bodies provide a wealth of information on AI and its impacts on the legal sector.
The Law Society of Ireland has a library guide that provides links to all the guidance issued on the use of AI by the legal profession from the Law Society of Ireland, The Bar of Ireland, Law Society of England and Wales, Solicitors Regulation Authority, Courts and Tribunal Judiciary, The Bar Council, International Bar Council and American Bar Association.
In addition the Law Society of Scotland has a Guide to GenAI, CILEX has guidance and resources on AI and has an article on the impact of AI in the CILEX Journal.
Many organisations also bring together academia, non-profits, industry and media to think about how to develop AI solutions for good. They provide resources, research and facilitate engagement of stakeholders in this space.
Partnership on AI (PAI)
Partnership on AI is based in the US but has a global mission to bring together change makers to foster AI advances for people and society. There is a resources section on their website with blogs, impact stories and research and publications.
Cast
CAST helps organisations use digital for social good, accelerating their agency, presence and influence in the technologies that affect us all. In February 2025 CAST announced with Zoe Amar Digital (social enterprise and digital agency that works with charities and non-profits) that it was launching a UK charity task force to support responsible, inclusive and collaborative use of AI. CAST’s Director Dan Sutch explained that such collaboration is at the heart of the new collective’s mission:
“At CAST, we have seen time and again the proven power of networks to effect real change. And we know there’s a real appetite for connection across the sector with regard to AI: almost three-quarters of respondents to CAST’s 2024 AI survey expressed a strong need to link up with peers to discuss AI. That’s why we feel it is vital at this point for social sector organisations – and the supporting infrastructure – to come together and navigate a path through the rapidly-changing AI landscape. We know that if we can share challenges, identify opportunities, foster partnerships and advocate for support as one unified voice, our presence and influence within this new technology will be strengthened beyond measure.”
Network for Justice
Network for Justice supports over 1,000 individuals, organisations, initiatives and projects in the UK which share a common goal of supporting people to access and utilise their legal rights. You can join their network and as part of the network they facilitate the Justice Innovation Group which meets every 3 months to discuss innovative ways to support access to justice. You can also search their database of Justicetech tools.
Access to Justice Network (A2J) Network
The Access to Justice Network is based in the US but attracts a global audience of justice professionals to exchange questions, ideas, announcements, and resources. There are 5 main working groups: Tech & Forms, Legal Self-Help Websites, Access to Justice Research, Court-Based Assistance, and Law Libraries that have regular webinars from Autumn to early Summer. You can join the network by emailing: a2jnetwork@stanford.edu
There are many different ways to stay informed about AI, and the areas you choose to focus on may depend on whether your interest is personal or professional. In the next section, we will explore some emerging issues and reflect on the importance of AI literacy.
Research
In Course 3, you had the opportunity to start conducting research into understanding how GenAI is impacting your sector.
You may want to re-visit this activity having learnt more about sources of information, the information that has been presented through the courses you have studied and the skills you have developed.
Research – understanding GenAI in your sector
It is important to understand how GenAI is currently impacting your sector. Use the prompts below to conduct research and collect insights.
| Focus area | Your notes / research findings |
| Current GenAI trends | What are the emerging GenAI applications in your sector? (e.g., document automation, triaging, case summaries) |
| Case studies | Are there examples of organisations in your sector successfully using GenAI? What are they doing? |
| Challenges and risks | What concerns are being raised? (e.g., accuracy, bias, data security, ethics, regulatory compliance) |
| Opportunities | What potential benefits could GenAI bring to your sector? (e.g., efficiency, creativity, cost reduction) |
| Competitor activity | How are your competitors or peer organisations adopting or experimenting with GenAI? |
| Regulations and policies | What are the legal, ethical, or regulatory frameworks relevant to GenAI use in your sector? |
Alternatively, you might choose one of the suggested topics in the following list. Using the guidance, you have learnt in this week’s study so far, spend 30 minutes doing some research at the relevant link provided. If there’s another area you’d rather investigate, focus on that!
- Do you think companies can be trusted to use AI ethically? Considering Microsoft’s controversial Windows Recall feature – read The Register’s article ‘Defiant Microsoft pushes ahead with controversial Recall – tho as an opt-in’.
- What do you think the impact of GenAI will have on the future skills and roles within the legal profession? You could start by reading Thomson Reuters’ 2024 Future of Professionals Report and this Forbes article on Will AI replace lawyers.
- How should we be training lawyers for the future? Read this paper on Training Lawyers for the Age of AI.
- How do you balance the benefits and responsibilities of using AI tools in legal work? You could start by reading this document on due diligence.
- What are the opportunities and challenges for the voluntary sector from AI? Read this guidance from Mishcon de Reya for charities or review the free Charity AI ready resources.
Once you have completed your research, write a short summary in the text box below.
Discussion
From your research you have probably seen there is a vast amount of discussion, and commentary on GenAI and it can feel quite overwhelming.
In the final part of this course we consider Gartner’s Hype Cycle, so it is perhaps worthwhile pausing and reflecting for a moment to acknowledge there is a lot of hype and speculation around AI. No one can accurately predict the future. It is important to be both cautious and critical – don't believe all the hype, be rigorous in your approach, be educated, ask questions, and challenges assumptions.
If you want to learn more about the history of tech bubbles read ‘Watching the Generative AI Hype Bubble Deflate’.
Now that you have conducted your research, you should have a deeper understanding of the AI landscape.
In the Further reading section (you can access this from the tab on the left-hand side menu on this page), we have added links to information that explores how the insights gathered through this exercise can be applied to support strategic planning and decision-making.
6 Parliament
