Litigation assistants told AI ‘evolving’ their roles
British law firm Irwin Mitchell will restructure its support staff network removing the cohort of litigation assistants, the England and Wales Gazette reports.
The Gazette reports its understanding that the development of AI for carrying out certain tasks has played a part in the restructure.
Risk of redundancy
A total of 58 staff have been told that they will potentially be affected and are at risk of redundancy though most are expected to be redeployed into other roles.
It is understood the decision to remove the litigation assistant role is not related to the Mazur judgment, which stated that unauthorised staff cannot conduct litigation even under supervision.
In a statement, the firm said: “Following a review of legal support we’re proposing to evolve our litigation assistant role into a team PA role, moving some of the billable tasks to paralegals and planning to increase our paralegal headcount.
“This will improve the experience for our clients, provide clarity and consistency across roles, and provide the best legal support structure in future. We’re committed to supporting our colleagues through any change and will continue to listen and respond to feedback through the ongoing consultations with those affected.”
In August, Irwin Mitchell reported that revenue for the year ending 30 April was up by 8% to £329m, with profit before tax increasing 13% to £4.6m.
In the previous 12 months, the firm sold its asset management business and invested in simplified core legal services, the Gazette reports.