A new research report commissioned by The Bar Standards Board (BSB) reveals that while many barristers are “curious, committed and innovative” when it comes to technology adoption, there are cultural and structural barriers that leave the profession at risk of being left behind.
The report, Technology and Innovation at the Bar, produced by Spinnaker, finds that while barristers often show agility in adopting new technologies, systemic barriers—including the profession’s structure, a lack of time, funding, and centralised IT expertise—have slowed broader innovation.
Adoption patterns vary widely. While commercial arbitration, intellectual property and patent practice areas show pockets of innovation, other sectors such as family law and publicly funded work lag behind. Most barristers now routinely use tools such as video conferencing, digital bundles, and cloud storage, with “the majority of barristers working digitally (paperlessly) for the majority of their practice.”
Nevertheless, cultural factors hinder standardisation and within Chambers, ‘everyone has their own way of working’, even for basic tasks like brief management, making it difficult to standardise processes.
Chambers tend to focus their investment on cybersecurity, cloud migration, and basic digital infrastructure, but strategic IT development remains rare.
Technology’s benefits are acknowledged across the profession, with reported improvements in efficiency, client transparency, data security, environmental impact, and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) outcomes. Barristers also see opportunities for automation in administrative tasks such as time recording, billing, and evidence review.
However, many barristers view their work as highly individual and resistant to commoditisation. “Barristers ‘parachute in and out’ and do the job by whatever means works best,” the report observes. Most practitioners prefer familiar, proven workflows and are wary of technology that could disrupt trusted methods.
Lack of funding is another major issue. Chambers, particularly those reliant on legal aid, operate on tight budgets, with little room for speculative IT investment. This financial constraint is compounded by the fragmented structure of the profession: “The hardest challenge in a self-employed or partnership model makes it so hard to aggregate funds for investment,” says one stakeholder.
Interestingly, barristers report limited regulatory barriers to tech adoption. Concerns about cybersecurity and confidentiality are prominent, although participants show cautious optimism about GenAI tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Lexis+ AI, and Vincent AI for drafting, transcription, and legal research.
Stakeholders warn that without more proactive facilitation—such as structured training in legal tech at all career stages—the Bar risks falling behind. Yet the report highlights a broader challenge: the lack of external drivers for innovation. Courts, solicitors, and clients are not consistently demanding digital transformation, leaving barristers to innovate on a largely voluntary basis.
The report concludes with a call for better infrastructure and more structured training. Interestingly, there is a call to both vendors and law firms to collaborate with the Bar, highlighting the mutual opportunities that may arise from doing so.
Mark Neale, director general of The Bar Standards Board, said: “Technology is developing quickly, and we need to help the profession to adapt to the risks and opportunities that this brings. We have discussed the findings of this report with the Bar Council. Both organisations recognise the need to work together to understand developments in technology at the Bar and to support the safe adoption of new technology.”
The full report- including case studies with examples of technologies that barristers use – is available HERE.