Richard Eric Susskind (born 28 March 1961) is a British author, speaker, and independent adviser to international professional firms and national governments. He is the IT adviser to the

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English and ...

, holds professorships at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England that does not accept students or award degrees. It was founded in 1597 under the Will (law), will of Sir Thomas Gresham, ...

and Strathclyde University, is a past chair of the Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information, and is the president of the Society for Computers and Law. Susskind has specialised in legal technology since the early 1980s, has authored nine books and is a regular columnist at ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. Susskind has more recently furthered his research to cover the professions more generally and his latest book, co-authored with Daniel Susskind, his son, predicts the decline of today's professions and describes the people and systems that will replace them. They argue that the current professions are antiquated and no longer affordable and explain how 'increasingly capable systems' will fundamentally change the way that professional expertise is shared. They propose six models for producing and distributing expertise in society.

Early life and education

The son of Werner and Shirley Susskind, he was privately educated at the

Hutchesons' Grammar School Hutchesons' Grammar School is a private, co-educational day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded as Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School by George Hutcheson and Thomas Hutcheson in 1641, making it the 19th oldest scho ...

. In 1978, he went to the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

where he received an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in Law in 1983. He subsequently obtained a D.Phil. in Computers and Law from

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

in 1986.

Online dispute resolution

Susskind chairs the UK Civil Justice Council's Advisory Group for

online dispute resolution Online dispute resolution (ODR) is a form of dispute resolution which uses technology to facilitate the resolution of disputes between parties. It primarily involves negotiation, mediation or arbitration, or a combination of all three. In this re ...

, which published a report in February 2015 recommending the establishment of Her Majesty's Online Courts (HMOC). The report recommends HMOC consist of three tiers: online evaluation, online facilitation and online judges. According to the report, the benefits of HMOC would be an increase in access to justice and substantial savings in the cost of the court system.

Honours

Susskind has received several honours and distinctions. In 1992, he was named an honorary member of the Society for Computers and Law, and in the same year, elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(FRSA). In 1997, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(FRSE) and a Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS). In the

2000 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom and New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2000. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various or ...

, he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

"for his contributions to the use of IT in law and the administration of justice". In 2001, Susskind was made an honorary fellow of the law faculty at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

and in 2005, appointed honorary professor at

, London. In the

2025 New Year Honours The 2025 New Year Honours are appointments by King Charles III among the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The ...

, Susskind was promoted to a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) by

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

"for services to Information Technology and to the Law".

Family

In 1985, Susskind married Michelle Latter. They have three children: Daniel, Jamie and Alexandra. Daniel Susskind, his co-author of ''The Future of the Professions'', is an economics lecturer at

;

Jamie Susskind Jamie Susskind (born 1989) is an English barrister and author. Background Jamie Susskind is the son of Richard Susskind, a notable British author, and is Jewish. He grew up in Radlett, an affluent village in Hertfordshire, and received a priv ...

is a barrister and the author of '' Future Politics'' and '' The Digital Republic'', which also examine the future of technology.

Books

* ''Expert Systems in Law'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1987; paperback, 1989) * ''Latent Damage Law – The Expert System'' (Butterworths, 1988) (with P.N. Capper) * ''Essays on Law and Artificial Intelligence'' (Tano, 1993) * ''The Future of Law'' (Oxford University Press, 1996; revised paperback, 1998) * ''Transforming the Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2000; revised paperback, 2003) * ''The Susskind Interviews'' (

Sweet & Maxwell Sweet & Maxwell is a British publisher specialising in legal publications. It joined the Associated Book Publishers in 1969; ABP was purchased by the International Thomson Organization in 1987, and is now part of Thomson Reuters. Its British ...

, 2005) * ''The End of Lawyers?'' (Oxford University Press, 2008; revised paperback, 2010) * ''Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future'' (Oxford University Press, paperback 2013) * ''The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts'' (Oxford University Press, 2015) (with D. Susskind) * ''Online Courts and the Future of Justice'' (Oxford University Press, 2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Susskind, Richard 1961 births Living people Writers from Paisley, Renfrewshire Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Oxford Academics of the University of Strathclyde British legal scholars British lawyers Academics of Gresham College British consultants British philosophers of law Fellows of the British Computer Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Commanders of the Order of the British Empire