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Law Society report warns justice system in England and Wales is not ready for agentic AI
The Law Society of England and Wales said on October 5, 2026, that the justice system is not ready for agentic AI, publishing a foresight study on how AI systems that act on users' behalf could reshape justice over the next decade. It said such tools could ease administrative pressures but warned that errors could spread quickly and accountability could fragment, and called for meaningful human oversight.
Paper (The Law Society) → · Legal Futures
Key points
- The Law Society called for clear accountability for agentic AI in justice, transparent AI decision-making, meaningful human oversight and public debate before widespread use.The Law Society
- It said agentic AI could help reduce court delays, but without safeguards errors can spread quickly and accountability can become fragmented and unclear.The Law Society
- The study drew on interviews with 19 people at the leading edge of AI in the legal sector and 11 justice-system experts.Legal Futures
- The study found agentic AI is not yet deployed in the justice system; it drew on evidence from the UK, US, China and Estonia.The Law SocietyLegal Futures
- The Law Society said deciding contested facts, assessing credibility and exercising irreducible discretion are not automatable because they are constitutive of justice.Legal Futures
- Vice president Brett Dixon said legal judgement cannot be delegated and AI is no substitute for investment in the court estate and court staff.The Law Society
Sources2 articles across 2 outlets
Legal Futures
The Law Society