UK Jurisdiction Taskforce issues legal statement concluding that existing common law can address AI harms, while the Law Society warns of a growing AI skills gap and the Ministry of Justice launches a £3.62 million LawtechUK tender
Three significant AI and law developments have emerged from the UK in the same reporting cycle, each with direct implications for legal practice. First, Sir Geoffrey Vos unveiled the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce's legal statement on liability for AI harms. The statement concludes that existing common law principles can generally address harms caused by AI, with existing negligence frameworks capable of adaptation as circumstances evolve. The statement also raises the prospect that professionals could be found liable not only for misusing AI, but for failing to use it where reasonable care and skill would require them to do so. The Law Society welcomed the statement as providing clarity for solicitors on their professional obligations when AI is involved in service delivery. Second, research by City Hall, published with input from major employers including law firm Linklaters, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, and Sky, found that 46% of London workers are in roles where AI could automate part of their job, eight percentage points above the national average. Business leaders are calling for coordinated training and job-transition support. Third, the Ministry of Justice has launched a tender for the next phase of LawtechUK, covering November 2026 to March 2029, with a grant of £3.62 million available to support legal technology innovation and access to justice. Separately, a shift in AI pricing models was flagged: consumption-based pricing (where cost is linked to actual usage) is expected to replace per-seat subscription models as AI platforms move towards agentic (autonomous, multi-step task) systems, requiring law firms to reassess their return-on-investment calculations. 's EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) legal head has also stated that AI fluency is now a baseline requirement for external counsel instructed by the company.