Finance


Ban for law firm revenue controller who diverted payments to own bank account

16 June 2021

A law firm revenue controller given a suspended jail sentence after diverting £32,000 in payments meant for suppliers to his own bank account has been banned from working in the profession.


Top firms “need to get clients paying faster” to prepare for next crisis

14 June 2021

The top 50 law firms had nearly £6bn of unpaid client invoices on their balance sheets last year and would be better prepared for another crisis like Covid if they reduced this, an analysis has argued.


Tribunal: Law firm’s part-time FD was worker, not self-employed

29 March 2021

An accountant who acted as a law firm’s part-time finance director through a company was a worker and not self-employed, even though he had another client, an employment tribunal has ruled.


Prepare now for negative interest rates, law firms told

2 November 2020

Law firms have been urged to change their retainers now so they can charge clients for holding their money, given the “possibility, if not likelihood” of negative interest rates.


Law firms were paid out of frozen bank account

26 May 2020

A property investor breached the terms of a freezing order by using company funds to pay outstanding fees to two London law firms, which repaid the money when they found out.


Big firms “burning through” the little cash they have

5 May 2020

Many of the country’s largest law firms are unprepared for the rate at which they are burning through cash during the Covid-19 pandemic, a review of their accounts has revealed.


Law firm defeats broker’s claim for £100k introducer fee

14 April 2020

A Liverpool law firm has defeated the claim of a finance broker who sought a £100,000 fee for introducing it to a new loan provider, even though it eventually secured £2m in funding.


Most firms increasing bank borrowing, survey finds

5 March 2020

There is a “real profitability divide” between larger and smaller law firms although income is generally increasing across the board, new research has found.


Big law firms “under-pricing” work

7 February 2020

Large law firms are damaging their profitability by poor scoping of work and under-pricing it, and are also set to penalise lawyers who offer clients overly large discounts, a survey has found.


Trade union firm faces trade union-organised strike

9 October 2019

Leading trade union law firm Thompsons is facing a strike over pay – and pickets lines at its offices across the country – organised by a trade union. It blames the squeeze in PI for not meeting the demands.


Sole practitioners ‘more profitable than small firms’

14 May 2019

Sole practitioners have overtaken small firms with two to four partners in terms of profit per equity partner, a survey has found. Sole practitioners also led the way in fee income growth compared to larger firms.


Mid-sized law firms recording solid growth, major survey finds

12 April 2019

Last year saw solid real-terms growth for mid-sized law firms, with median growth of 4.2% the result of increased fee income rather than simply more fee-earners, new figures have shown.


Law firm insolvencies hit new high amid ‘loan stacking’ warning

10 April 2019

The number of insolvencies among solicitors’ firms reached a new high last year, Insolvency Service figures have shown, and a funder has warned that ‘loan stacking’ will only make things worse.


VAT risk for law firms handling insurers’ claims work

21 January 2019

New guidance on delegated authority claims handling by lawyers may create additional VAT costs for law firms and lead to disputes with their insurance clients, accountants have warned.


Tribunal issues tax warning after senior barrister’s late payment

21 December 2018

Barristers would be “well advised” to make proper provision for tax liabilities given the “episodic” nature of their income, a tribunal has cautioned after upholding a fine against a QC hit by legal aid cuts.

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