CJC consultation on AI-use declarations in court documents closed on 14 April: The Civil Justice Council's consultation on whether new rules are needed to govern AI use in preparing court documents ran from February to 14 April. The CJC's provisional proposals include: no new AI-specific rules for statements of case (provided the legal representative's name appears as usual); a mandatory declaration that AI has not been used to generate, edit, or rephrase substantive evidence in trial witness statements under PD57AC; and an amendment to PD35 requiring experts to identify and explain any substantive AI use in their reports. The CJC sees no present need for formal AI declarations in disclosure lists. A final report is expected in the coming weeks. For litigators, the witness statement and expert report proposals are the ones to watch, as they would create specific obligations that do not currently exist. (Judiciary / Hogan Lovells)

SRA publishes Risk Outlook report on AI in the legal market: The SRA published its research on AI and the legal market in April, building on the preview covered in the 3 April issue. The headline finding: roughly a third of the public has used generative AI to help identify legal issues, with many taking a hybrid approach (consulting both a solicitor and an AI tool). The SRA flags hallucination risk (fake cases and incorrect information reaching court bundles), privilege concerns where clients input sensitive information into public AI tools, and the implications for solicitors' duty of competence. The report will likely inform the SRA's next round of guidance, and firms should expect their compliance frameworks to be measured against whatever the SRA says next. (SRA)

Microsoft launched a dedicated Legal Agent for Word on 30 April: Beyond the Copilot features covered in the 17 April issue, Microsoft went further at the end of the month and launched a standalone Legal Agent for Word, designed specifically for legal document work. The tool was built with input from legal technology specialists and handles contract review with tracked changes, contextual comments, and an audit trail. This is Microsoft treating legal as a first-class vertical, not an afterthought. (Artificial Lawyer)

French "AI and civil justice" report published with 12 recommendations: Le Club des Juristes, a French legal think-tank, published a report on 8 April setting out 12 recommendations for the use of AI in civil justice, including maintaining human judicial oversight, ensuring transparency, and protecting personal data. For UK lawyers, the value is comparative: the report covers much of the same ground as the CJC consultation but from a civil law perspective. Worth reading alongside the CJC proposals if you advise on cross-border disputes or want to see how another major European jurisdiction is approaching the same questions. (Le Club des Juristes)

Greenberg Traurig: practical overview of AI in English courtrooms: A clear summary published in April of how English courts have responded to AI use in litigation so far, covering recent judicial statements, disclosure obligations when AI has been used to prepare evidence or submissions, and evolving transparency expectations. This was flagged as a "For review" item in the 1 May issue, but it is worth listing here as a standalone resource for anyone who wants a single document covering the current state of play. (Greenberg Traurig)

Kennedys on deploying AI in financial services: FCA and data protection considerations: A piece from Kennedys examining the intersection of AI deployment, FCA regulation, and data protection law. Relevant for any firm advising financial services clients on AI adoption, covering the FCA's expectations on algorithmic fairness, suitability assessments, and the interaction with UK GDPR requirements. A useful compliance reference for in-house teams at regulated firms. (Kennedys)

EU AI Act Omnibus trilogue collapsed on 28 April: Covered in the 1 May issue, but worth repeating here for completeness. The 28 April trilogue ended without agreement after 12 hours, with the conformity-assessment architecture for AI in regulated products as the sticking point. The original 2 August 2026 high-risk applicability date legally stands. A follow-up trilogue is expected around 13 May. Firms advising clients supplying AI-enabled products into the EU need to prepare for the original timeline unless and until an Omnibus formally extends it.

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