https://heraclescs.com/insights Plain-language writing on adopting AI safely and within the rules, for UK law firms. en-GB https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-providers-enter-legal https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-providers-enter-legal Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The AI model makers now sell into legal work directly and firms are signing partnerships. What a smaller firm should weigh before it ties itself to one platform. https://heraclescs.com/insights/gpt-5-6-goes-public https://heraclescs.com/insights/gpt-5-6-goes-public Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 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. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-automated-decision-making https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-automated-decision-making Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 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. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ico-ai-data-protection https://heraclescs.com/insights/ico-ai-data-protection Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 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. https://heraclescs.com/insights/judiciary-ai-guidance https://heraclescs.com/insights/judiciary-ai-guidance Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 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. https://heraclescs.com/insights/multi-model-legal-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/multi-model-legal-ai Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 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. https://heraclescs.com/insights/cjc-ai-court-documents https://heraclescs.com/insights/cjc-ai-court-documents Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The Civil Justice Council has signalled its view on AI in court documents. For professional drafting, your existing duties still carry the weight. https://heraclescs.com/insights/when-not-using-ai-is-negligent https://heraclescs.com/insights/when-not-using-ai-is-negligent Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 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. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-write-access https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-write-access Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 AI assistants can now send email, book meetings and file documents in your systems. What a firm should check before granting write access. https://heraclescs.com/insights/eu-ai-act-august-2026 https://heraclescs.com/insights/eu-ai-act-august-2026 Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 From 2 August 2026 the EU begins enforcing its rules on general AI models. Here is where the AI Act reaches a UK law firm, and what to do. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-and-your-fees https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-and-your-fees Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Deloitte research finds most in-house counsel expect AI to cut their legal bills and change how firms price. What it means for your firm. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-assistant-works-while-you-sleep https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-assistant-works-while-you-sleep Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 AI assistants now run in the background and from a phone. For a law firm that raises real questions about confidentiality, supervision and control. https://heraclescs.com/insights/mazur-ai-and-conducting-litigation https://heraclescs.com/insights/mazur-ai-and-conducting-litigation Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 A Court of Appeal ruling on supervision leaves open whether an AI tool that makes case decisions amounts to conducting litigation. https://heraclescs.com/insights/verify-before-you-file https://heraclescs.com/insights/verify-before-you-file Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The number of AI hallucination cases keeps climbing. A simple verification habit is now part of your duty to the court. https://heraclescs.com/insights/sra-supervision-2026 https://heraclescs.com/insights/sra-supervision-2026 Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The SRA has substantially expanded its supervision guidance. A named authorised person must stay accountable for AI-assisted work. https://heraclescs.com/insights/cork-v-smith-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/cork-v-smith-ai Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 A ruling found a firm had misled the court through AI hallucinations, and set out plainly where accountability sits. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-continuity-lessons https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-continuity-lessons Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 A capable AI tool vanished for nineteen days under export controls. For a firm that had built it into daily work, that is a continuity problem. https://heraclescs.com/insights/fable-5-mythos-5-return https://heraclescs.com/insights/fable-5-mythos-5-return Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 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. https://heraclescs.com/insights/sonnet-5-for-law-firms https://heraclescs.com/insights/sonnet-5-for-law-firms Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 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. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-contracts-to-read https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-contracts-to-read Sat, 09 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The demonstration sells the tool. The contract decides whether it is safe for a law firm to use. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-note-takers https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-note-takers Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 AI meeting assistants are everywhere, and they quietly record and send client conversations to a third party. That is the trap. https://heraclescs.com/insights/supervising-ai-use https://heraclescs.com/insights/supervising-ai-use Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The duty to supervise does not pause because a junior used a tool. If anything, AI makes good supervision matter more. https://heraclescs.com/insights/records-and-retention-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/records-and-retention-ai Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 If an AI tool holds copies of client data, your retention and deletion duties follow the data into the tool. https://heraclescs.com/insights/marketing-with-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/marketing-with-ai Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 AI can write your marketing in minutes. The duty not to mislead means you still have to stand behind every word. https://heraclescs.com/insights/client-care-and-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/client-care-and-ai Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Clients are entitled to know how their matter is handled. Where AI plays a part, a little candour protects the relationship and the retainer. https://heraclescs.com/insights/document-review-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/document-review-ai Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Reviewing a large set of documents is where AI can save the most time, and where a careless approach can do the most damage. https://heraclescs.com/insights/cyber-security-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/cyber-security-ai Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 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. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-roadmap-next-year https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-roadmap-next-year Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Adopting AI well is a sequence, not a single decision. A simple roadmap keeps the firm moving without overreaching. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-in-family-law https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-in-family-law Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Family work is among the most sensitive a firm handles. AI can help with the load, but the data deserves particular care. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-in-conveyancing https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-in-conveyancing Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Conveyancing runs on volume and tight margins, which is exactly why AI is tempting, and why the duties around it need care. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-and-access-to-justice https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-and-access-to-justice Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Used well, AI can let a small firm serve clients it could not afford to serve before. That is a quieter benefit worth naming. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-use-policy https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-use-policy Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 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. https://heraclescs.com/insights/drafting-with-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/drafting-with-ai Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 AI drafts quickly and confidently. The skill is knowing which drafts to trust and which to treat as a starting point only. https://heraclescs.com/insights/uk-gdpr-and-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/uk-gdpr-and-ai Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Putting client data through an AI tool is processing like any other. The UK GDPR applies in full, and a few questions keep you on the right side of it. https://heraclescs.com/insights/training-your-team https://heraclescs.com/insights/training-your-team Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 A tool is only as safe as the people using it. Short, practical training is what turns a policy on paper into habit. https://heraclescs.com/insights/cost-of-legal-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/cost-of-legal-ai Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The licence is the smallest number. The honest question for a small firm is whether the hours saved repay the time and money the change really takes. https://heraclescs.com/insights/sra-and-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/sra-and-ai Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 AI does not sit outside your professional duties. It sits squarely inside them. Here is what the SRA framework asks of a firm that puts these tools to work. https://heraclescs.com/insights/stopping-ai-mistakes https://heraclescs.com/insights/stopping-ai-mistakes Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 General models do not know the law. They predict text, and sometimes they predict a case that never existed. Here is how to keep that out of your work. https://heraclescs.com/insights/pii-and-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/pii-and-ai Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 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. https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-across-borders https://heraclescs.com/insights/ai-across-borders Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Many AI tools process data outside the United Kingdom. When client data crosses a border, the UK GDPR has something to say about it. https://heraclescs.com/insights/client-confidentiality-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/client-confidentiality-ai Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Every prompt that carries client information is a disclosure. The duty does not soften because the recipient is a machine. https://heraclescs.com/insights/choosing-legal-ai-tools https://heraclescs.com/insights/choosing-legal-ai-tools Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The market is loud and the demonstrations are polished. A short, disciplined process tells substance from hype before you sign. https://heraclescs.com/insights/legal-research-ai https://heraclescs.com/insights/legal-research-ai Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 A general chatbot is the wrong tool for legal research. A tool built on real law is a different proposition, used with care.