The Future of Law: Reflections and Predictions marks the 30th anniversary of Richard Susskind's seminal work on the transformation of legal services. First published in 1996, the original edition argued that technology would fundamentally reshape legal practice and the administration of justice—an idea that many lawyers at the time dismissed. Three decades on, with artificial intelligence now advancing at a remarkable speed, those predictions have taken on renewed significance.
This anniversary edition reproduces the original text in full and unaltered, offering readers a rare opportunity to revisit the foundations of modern thinking about legal technology. Alongside the classic chapters, Susskind provides new commentary for each, reflecting on what was argued thirty years ago, assessing how these ideas have endured, and considering their implications for the years ahead.
In addition to looking back, the book offers an entirely new restatement of Susskind's current views on the future of law, with particular focus on the likely impact of AI on legal work, legal institutions, and access to justice. It situates contemporary developments in a broader historical context, helping readers understand how far the legal world has come—and how profoundly it may yet change.
Clear, authoritative, and forward-looking, The Future of Law: Reflections and Predictions is essential reading for practitioners, policymakers, technologists, academics, and anyone interested in the evolving relationship between law and digital technology.
"One of the most important books about law in the past 50 years. Even more relevant today than when first published. Prescient, inspiring and humbling in even measure. I first read this as a trainee. I read it today as a managing partner. It paints a visionary, fundamentally uplifting picture of what a truly modern legal system could be." - Paul Lewis, Firmwide Managing Partner, Linklaters
"Richard Susskind, who has greatly influenced so many of us in thinking about technology and justice, would be amply justified in saying, "I told you so", but this reissue is so much more than that. He reminds us, in his inimitable way, that the issues he has been writing about for decades remain of existential importance to all of us in the law, and highlights the great urgency with which we need to frame and address the critical questions that should be at the forefront of our minds." - Sundaresh Menon, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Singapore
"One of the most visionary books ever written on the future of the legal profession, "The Future of Law" anticipated decades ago the transformation that the market would later confirm. This new edition adds fresh insights on AGI and reflections on the author's original thinking and predictions. A must-read book for every lawyer seeking to understand what comes next." - Pablo Blanco Perez, General Counsel, Repsol
"Essential reading for lawyers, policymakers, and anyone concerned with trust, accountability and the rule of law. His predictions of what the future holds leave you fizzing with questions about the leadership required in government, in our public services, in private industry, to create a future where AGI is woven into our lives with rule of law principles as part of its DNA." - Fiona Rutherford, Chief Executive JUSTICE M
"Susskind brilliantly demonstrates that our biggest fear about the technological revolution he has long predicted-that it challenges everything we think we know about law and lawyering-can also be our greatest hope for the future, if we have the courage to return to first principles about the fundamental purposes of the legal system. Whether one ultimately agrees with his conclusions, the re-examination Susskind urges will be foundational to preserving the rule of law in the age of artificial intelligence." - David B. Wilkins, Lester Kissel Professor of Law and Director of the Center on the Legal Profession, Harvard Law School
