A new Government report argues that solicitors and legal firms should not feel ‘threatened’ by the introduction of online courts, as any ‘lost work’ or income is likely to be ‘replaced elsewhere’.

The Government has reportedly spent in the region of £1billion developing online courts, which it says will improve access to justice and speed-up dispute resolution, while also preserving judicial time for only the most complex cases.

The court will hear claims up to the value of £25,000, according to reports.

But the Government has suggested that solicitors should not fear being ‘displaced’ by the introduction of the online court system in relation to civil, family and tribunal proceedings.

Its report, which relates to the upcoming Prisons and Courts Bill, reads: “solicitors and other approved professionals should be able to substitute the time they currently spend on dealing with these cases with other work with the same income, resulting in no net loss of income”.

It adds that the new ‘rule-making’ process will be applied in a way that “leads to a more intuitive online court process”.

“This is likely to be the result of establishing a rules committee with different expertise and a specific mandate to create simple rules,” it says.