associate news

Solicitors Own Software (SOS) and ETSOS have completed the integration of the ETSOS conveyancing search portal into SOS Connect, one of the UK’s leading legal case management systems.

A dry summer in 2013 would cost UK homeowners over £291m in damages due to shrink/swell subsidence following record rainfall in 2012, according to Searchflow, the property search provider.

Russell Jones & Walker has today announced the completion of its transition to the Slater & Gordon brand name following last year’s headline grabbing merger with Slater & Gordon in Australia – the country’s largest consumer firm and the first in the world to be publicly listed.

IRIS Legal has hired experienced new business professional, Rob Carling, to develop the IRIS Law Business (ILB) customer base in the in-house sector.

The Bold Legal Group (BLG) has recently entered into a partnership with Certainty The National Will Register. Founded by Rob Hailstone (a former conveyancer) nearly three years ago, BLG helps law firms combat the many threats and issues that high street law firms face now and will face in the future. The group now has a membership of over 200 firms. Rob is highly respected in the legal profession and was at the forefront of the campaign which helped to bring about HSBC’s decision to expand it mortgage panel.

Carl Martin has been appointed IT Director (Europe) by Decision Insight Information Group, the information and data provider for the financial and legal services. Martin will lead the European IT function across all of the Decision Insight Information Group brands including SearchFlow, the property search provider.

Peppermint Technology and Brilliant Law, the UK’s first law firm founded by non-lawyers, will be working together to challenge the traditional landscape of legal services. Brilliant Law has selected the Peppermint Platform to underpin this prominent legal business. Brilliant Law has a corporate structure led by non-solicitors, and is headed by a team renowned for challenging the markets within which they operate. It has aspirational plans to radically change the legal landscape by providing fixed-fee advice backed by state-of-the-art customer service.

Specialist Swiss financial planning firm Mercatoria Group is implementing Eclipse’s Proclaim Matter Management software system for its Geneva head office. The Mercatoria Group offers a wide range of wealth management services and tax-planning structures for families, businesses and entrepreneurs. The group operates in a number of jurisdictions to provide maximum geographical expertise, be it domestic or on a global scale.

Having undergone two mergers in recent years followed by Lexcel accreditation, WSP Solicitors has now chosen SOS Connect as part of an IT overhaul to streamline operations.

A white paper published by LexisNexis says that solicitors must “comply or die” as the Solicitor Regulatory Authority’s (SRA) new rules come into force. The rules mean that all firms must, from 1 January 2013, have formal compliance officers – a compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) and a compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA).