Happy holidays! 2025 has been a fast-moving year in legal tech, and whether this is your first or 35th edition (yes, we’re keeping count), we’re glad to have been your go-to source for industry news and insights. 

For this final 2025 edition, we’re doing something a little different. Instead of a typical monthly roundup, we’re looking back at the stories you engaged with most across the year. In each regional section, you’ll find the top-performing entries — the pieces that sparked the most clicks, shares, and conversation. 

We’ve also included a few fresh, timely updates in the Industry news and trends section to close out the year. 

Thanks for reading, for staying curious, and for being part of this community. 

Welcome to the December edition of the Dye & Durham Docket. 

Featured articles

This year’s top features reflected how quickly the legal sector is evolving and how widely our readers gravitated toward stories that offered clarity amid that change. 

Our most-read entry of the year came from November, when firms were deep in planning mode for 2026. The piece outlined the 10 legal technology trends shaping competitiveness. 

The second most-read entry came from April. ESG may have slid down many firms’ priority lists, but recent research from the International Bar Association (IBA) suggested that stakeholder expectations and regulatory scrutiny are not softening. Readers engaged strongly with this pragmatic take on how to keep ESG meaningful, measurable, and integrated into firm strategy. 

And in August, our community was clearly wrestling with one of the year’s thorniest practical questions: how do you bill for AI?  It echoed a broader theme we saw throughout 2025: outdated structures straining to accommodate new realities. 

Industry news and trends

First, a final pulse check on the global legal landscape now, followed by a look back at the broader stories that defined 2025.

Current entries: 

• The Financial Times reports how in-house legal teams are experimenting with AI for work previously sent to law firms. 

• Legal challenges to Australia’s new social media restrictions. 

• A new analysis outlines the future of legal operations and suggested actions for 2026.

• Rate growth vs. financial pressures: The “prosperity paradox” facing law firms. 

Recap of the year’s top entries:

 In March, our readers were drawn to the IBA’s sober warning that the legal profession may be underestimating the pace of AI-driven change. January brought two standout entries: a Forbes Councils legal tech expert’s guide to preparing firms for the new year and a widely shared set of 65 expert predictions on AI’s role in the legal sector — from federal judges to startup founders.

Together, these stories captured the mix of anticipation and uncertainty that shaped the early months of the year. 

Global news

Australia consistently delivered some of the year’s most attention-grabbing stories. 

May: The yearslong trademark dispute between Katie Perry and Katy Perry reached the High Court, raising big questions about global branding, name rights, and cross-border recognition. It became one of our most-read IP stories of the year. 

July: The “mushroom case” dominated headlines and reader interest alike, as legal experts unpacked why Erin Patterson was ultimately found guilty. 

Across Canada, readers gravitated toward clarity, from regulatory changes to courtroom commentary.

January: Our roundup of laws coming into effect was one of the year’s most revisited entries as firms were eager to understand what the year’s new rules would mean in practice. (Hint: Look out for the 2026 version in next month's edition.) 

March: Interest shifted to the courts, where the Federal Court noted that very few filings disclosed AI use despite clear expectations. Chief Justice Paul Crampton’s reflections on transparency, ethics, and the risks of non-disclosure struck a chord with readers. A related piece, highlighting a firm owner’s view of AI as the “great equalizer” for small practices, kept the conversation going. 

Ireland brought a mix of human insight, humour, and genuinely novel legal questions, and your engagement reflected that.

February: One of our most charming entries compared lawyers to hairdressers, making the case that both professions rely on judgment, interpretation, and interpersonal skills — qualities not easily automated. It was a refreshing counterpoint to AI anxiety.

June: Then came one of the most entertaining legal analyses of the year: can emojis form a binding contract? An Irish firm’s breakdown of WhatsApp interactions, tone, and emoji use became an instant favourite. 

Here, the year’s top stories balanced foundational policy change with growing innovation momentum.

January: South Africa’s adoption of the Global Minimum Tax Act drew strong interest from firms watching global tax harmonization efforts. The piece offered a clear summary of what the new rules mean for cross-border work.

August: Meanwhile, ILTA’s 2025 Legal Innovation Summit landing in Johannesburg signaled a rising appetite for legal tech insight across South Africa’s legal community. 

In the UK, readers were drawn to both sweeping reforms and groundbreaking innovation.

January: A new slate of laws and policies marked what the prime minister called a “year of change.” 

June: At the other end of the spectrum, the SRA’s approval of the world’s first purely AI-powered law firm sparked debate across the profession. It raised big questions about regulation, quality, ethics, and what counts as a “firm” in an era of automated service delivery.

Dye & Durham in action

A lighter note 

This section delivered some of the most delightfully chaotic stories of the year, because the legal world is full of surprises — and you loved these ones the most. 

February: Legal Cheek’s roundup of courtroom slip-ups and email mishaps delivered some of the year’s best secondhand embarrassment. 

 
April: A curated list of courtroom dramas to watch kept things fun between filings. 

 
August: And this collection of bizarre international laws proved that truth is often stranger than fiction. 

Thank you!

Thank you for reading this final 2025 edition of the Dye & Durham Docket, and for all the feedback you’ve sent our way this year. Hearing what you love (and what you really don’t) helps us make each edition better, and will shape a few thoughtful updates we’re planning for the new year. Feel free to keep it coming using the button below. 

Wishing you a restful holiday season and a bright start to 2026. See you in the new year! 

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