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Politics
Jun 09, 2026
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UK Government Trials AI Legal Assistants Amid Law Society’s Funding Warning

AI Summary
The UK government will trial AI‑driven virtual legal assistants in crown courts to ease a record backlog, but the Law Society warns the technology must not replace essential funding and staff. With over 80,000 pending cases and recent AI‑generated citation scandals, the pilot faces scrutiny over accuracy and resource impacts.

David Lammy, deputy prime minister, will announce on Tuesday a pilot of AI‑powered virtual legal assistants for England and Wales crown courts, aimed at cutting the mounting case backlog.

Government Rolls Out AI Legal Assistants to Crown Courts

The Ministry of Justice says judges will use a new AI tool to identify trial‑ready cases and group similar hearings, hoping to streamline administration and free up staff for core duties.

Backlog Figures and Recent AI Errors Reveal Financial Stakes

  • More than 80,000 cases are awaiting crown‑court decision this year – double the pre‑Covid 2019 figure of 38,108.
  • 2,600 crown‑court trials are not listed until at least 2028, with 29 pushed to 2030.
  • Last year a £89m damages case involved 45 case‑law citations, 18 of which were fictitious and generated by publicly available AI tools.

These numbers underscore the pressure on the system and the risk of AI‑generated misinformation.

Law Society Calls for Safeguards Over Funding and Staffing

The Law Society, representing over 200,000 solicitors, warns the pilot must not be used to “replace vital funding and additional court staff”. Ian Jeffery, chief executive, stresses that outcomes of the evaluation should be public and that robust safeguards are needed to preserve justice integrity.

What Lies Ahead for AI in the UK Justice System

While officials tout AI’s potential to save “thousands of days of admin work”, critics argue that without clear evaluation and continued investment, the technology could exacerbate existing challenges. The next months will reveal whether the pilot can balance efficiency gains with the Law Society’s demand for transparency and adequate resources.