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The Solicitors Regulation Authority has used its increased fining powers for the first time, fining a solicitor £15,000 for failing to properly manage the affairs of three clients subject to deputyship orders.

Now, more than ever, SME law firms must take a cost-conscious approach to their legal operations, which includes ensuring their legal software is helping them achieve their goals.

When the first smartphone came to market, it blew the competition away and, like so many, I jumped in and bought one. I remember experiencing, for the first time, the power of a computer in my pocket.

There is still no word from the government as to if, why and how fixed recoverable costs are going to happen. The October deadline for implementation was scrapped and we are now looking at April 2023.

More than three-quarters of those responding to our law firm leaders survey said their most pressing business concern was recruiting staff, with over a third having difficulties retaining staff.

Firms can no longer expect clients to stay long term, and so should be ready to transfer clients out and onboard new ones continually. Simultaneously, the war for talent is hotting up.

Many of the financial planning firms we work with have assisted the COLPs of the firms they work with to look at what is important in a selected partner.

Given the economic issues with the old staff-up or send-out approach, in-house legal leaders operating in a new cost-controlled environment must find alternative solutions.

In September, the Californian State Legislature blocked alternative business structures, retaining the prohibition of non-lawyers ownership of law firms in America’s largest state.

When staff in organisations start using online services independently without following their in-house IT team’s approval process, those online services become ‘shadow IT’.