On Thursday 13 November 2025, we were thrilled to host the latest Cambridge AI networking group meeting in our offices. It was a great event with fantastic presentations (on legal AI solutions) and networking over pizza and drinks that went on long after most of the rest of Cambridge had gone home.
Although the subject matter of this meeting was very modern, its setting in a law firm is in some ways a very traditional choice in this city: Cambridge continues to produce world-leading technologies, yet is, in fact, the home of the English-speaking world's oldest law professorship, founded in 1540. It was very fitting that this meeting of Cambridge's leading technology businesses should be taking place in a law firm and, specifically, in this one.
Let me explain what I mean by that.
The Innovation economy is one of Mishcon's three strategic sectors outlined in Vision 2030 and we have ensured that we have the capabilities and expertise to continue to protect and support innovators, entrepreneurs, disruptors, and problem solvers. We have a longstanding tradition of advising AI businesses across the full scope of their work: from start-up and scale-up investment, to patentability analyses and infringement assessments, through to advice on governance, regulatory and compliance matters, as well as contractual issues. We have integrated AI tools into every aspect of our daily business and were recently recognised as the top ranked firm in Cambridge for AI-related work.
In essence, the rapid growth of AI businesses in Cambridge and Oxford is the latest evidence of the creativity that pervades these historic cities, and we are here for it.
That is not to say that AI innovation is all plain sailing. The integration of that creativity with more established forms of creativity, whether in literature or journalism or art or music, presents difficult questions about, ultimately, fairness and reward. These discussions often risk tarring entire industries with the same brush, placing "luddites" against "thieves".
These notions disappear when you speak to the people and creators behind these industries, so I hope you will look forward to the next few editions of Inside Cambridge and Inside Oxford where we will take a more detailed look at some of the issues that will need to be resolved. In the meantime, you can read about the High Court decision in Getty Images v. Stability AI (on various copyright and trade mark questions relating to AI systems in the UK) and you can read about the background to a landmark UK Supreme Court decision on the patentability of AI systems, which is anticipated before the end of the year.