Transforming the Law: Essays on Technology, Justice, and the Legal Marketplace - Softcover

Susskind, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199264740 ISBN 13: 9780199264742

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA, 2003

Synopsis

Now available in a paperback edition, law and technology guru Richard Susskind, author of bestselling The Future of Law, brings together in one volume eleven significant essays on the application of IT to legal practice and the administration of justice, including key topics such as knowledge management and the impact of e-commerce and electronic government. This edition includes a brand new Preface, in which Susskind puts forward his views on the burst of the dotcom bubble, offers an extension to his Grid to cover in-house lawyers, and comments on the next big things in this area: e-learning, document assembly, online dispute resolution, e-mail management, and matter-centric systems.

About this title

Review:

The broad diversity of the subject matter will mean that different sections of the book will appeal to students and practitioners with an interest in the area, as well as to academics, the judiciary and indeed anyone with a role to play in developing strategies for the application of the law. ... Susskind is obviously passionate about the role of IT in enabling greater access to justice for a broader spread of the population, and this comes across in his writing. ... This work is a relatively comprehensive collection of Susskind's thinking on those developments likely over the next decade and beyond, and as such it should be required reading for anyone considering strategic or implementation issues. The structure and tone of the book is relaxed, and overall it succeeds in making complex principles understandable to a wide audience. (The Cambridge Law Journal, Vol. 61, Part 2, July 2002)

The author cleverly uses his four-celled grid to move from the more abstract general concepts that were the currency of The Future of Law through a series of increasingly concrete levels until he is talking about specific applications of technology to legal business. ... Part I is, I feel, an invaluable guide for law firms on how to exploit the business challenges and avoid the pitfalls of the information society. ... It unquestionably demonstrates Susskind's remarkable range, versatility and influence as jurisprudent, legal business guru, government strategist and visionary. ... this is an important book which should be read. (Robin Widdison, International Journal of Law and Information Technology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2002)

Richard Susskind has made significant contributions to the evaluation of information technology ... in the legal domain. ... will be of interest to those who ... are looking for an efficient and up-to-date compilation. ... Richard Susskind continues to be an important voice in evaluating the impact of IT on the legal profession. His past and continuing contributions are such that any new book he produces deserves the attention of the legal community. Transforming the Law is no exception. (International Business Lawyer, 1 Oct 2002)

Professor Richard Susskind may be the most important thinker and writer on the subject of the legal profession today, and the essays in Transforming the Law are as provocative as his prescient 1996 book The Future of Law. ... Transforming is provocative but extremely valuable thinking on the future. The initial incredulous reaction to Future has been replaced over the years by acceptance and recognition. The bold prediction and prescriptions of Transforming should therefore be digested and considered seriously by all who have an interest in the future of the legal profession ... (Ward Bower AW website, 16.7.01)

Richard Susskind is the nearest thing the law has to an e-guru ... Admirably clear, user-friendly and comprehensive in its focus on law, these essays are the nearest thing we have to a primer. As such they should be required reading for anyone faced with the task of dragging a firm into the new reality or coming to terms with what law will be in the new world. (The Lawyer, 9 July 2001)

There can be no one who cannot learn something new ... this is a vivacious and entertaining introduction to the use of technology in legal practice and the system of justice generally.....It has been produced to the publisher's customary high standards (Professor Colin Tapper, Law Quarterly Review, July 2001)

Both through his writings and through his work as a consultant to Lord Woolf and others, Prof. Susskind has had a profound influence on the practice of the law in the past decade. These essays provide a good indication of his power of analysis and of the originality of much of his thinking. His vision is clear. Lawyers must embrace IT. ... these essays are a work of scholarship - but they also contain a mass of practical advice. (Financial Times 23 April 2001)

poses a number of interesting questions and challenges for the law and is well worth investigation. (E-Commerce - Germany)

How should lawyers use emerging technologies to develop their practices? Richard Susskind's latest book Transforming the Law, published by Oxford University Press, provides the most exciting exposition of this largely new subject ... This vision of the future of law is something all lawyers should take extremely seriously else their livelihoods could be in jeopardy ... Transforming the Law is a must for all lawyers who take other than a short-term view of their businesses. (John Angel, Electronic Business Law)

His comments merit careful study by both lawyers and non-lawyers because they are written by someone who has the experience and the skill to analyse the ways in which legal services are currently delivered and to forecast the changes that lie ahead. ... Taken together these essays are a work of scholarship - but they also contain a mass of practical advice. As IT moves forward at an accelerating pace it is to be hoped there are more essays to come. (Sir Brian Neill, Financial Times)

About the Author:

Richard Susskind has specialized in legal technology for over 20 years and is an independent adviser to global professional firms and to national governments. He has advised on numerous government inquiries and has been IT Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England since 1998. He holds professorships at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and at Gresham College in London. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the British Computer Society, and was awarded an OBE in the Millennium New Year's Honours List for services to IT in the Law and to the Administration of Justice.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0199264740
• ISBN 13: 9780199264742
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 332