Blog
Santa’s note to staff – Christmas 2021
As you may have heard on the grapevine, Mrs Claus and I will not be working this Christmas. We have managed to bag a last-minute package deal to the Democratic Republic of Barbados.
Opt-out, not strike out
There now ought to be no doubt in our minds that the collective proceedings order is an important feature on the litigation landscape. Two Competition Appeal Tribunal decisions provide some useful lessons.
Asking the right questions of ATE insurance providers
The recent news that two large litigation funders have exited the market may have causes unease among solicitors regarding some of the litigation and disbursement funding solutions in the market.
Sustainability for small businesses
As a business we agreed recently that it was imperative to become a sustainable business. The questions were: why, how long is it going to take, who’s going to believe us – and what actually is sustainability?
Do the courts favour the party with the largest pile of chips?
The imbalance between cost protection and access to justice has led to increased frustration for claimants, particularly in the context of funded group litigation.
Mind your (written) language
Lawyers now have to learn to navigate between an English for legal matters and an English for communication – there has always been some difference, but these days they are acute.
Compulsory retirement of partners: problems and opportunities
Law firm leaders face tough choices as they evaluate performance over an unprecedented period and inevitably underperforming partners will be targeted for compulsory retirement.
Will the SQE affect diversity in the legal profession?
Law firms are under increasingly pressure to attract a more diverse pool of young lawyers. One of the fundamental motivations behind introducing the SQE was to address this issue.
Should the SRA introduce tougher sanctions for AML breaches?
We have recently seen the Solicitors Regulation Authority fining law firms across England and Wales over a lack of proper anti-money laundering policies and procedures.
EHCPs and the uphill struggle for justice
The staggering truth behind the education system supporting children with special education needs and disabilities is that 80% of SEND children don’t receive the regular in-school support they need.
Blog
The new metrics for success in conveyancing
While technology has made much of the conveyancing process faster, there remains a practical limit to how many matters anyone can manage while still keeping standards intact.
The UK legal market is polarising – and the middle is disappearing
Consolidation and the boutique boom are not contradictory. They are the same market stretching apart at both ends – and it changes what your firm is worth, and to whom.
Conveyancing’s consistency problem is about pressure, not skills
When I qualified, a conveyancer had perhaps 10 or 12 plates to keep spinning. Today’s conveyancers have 20 or 30, and almost none of the room for error I had starting out.
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