Latest news
Government commits to continuing lawtech push
The government has agreed to continue funding LawtechUK for the next year, committing £1.5m to support greater use of AI and other technology in legal services.
London office of top US firm fined £300k for AML failures
A leading US law firm has been fined £300,000 for failing to have anti-money laundering risk assessments and procedures in place in its London office.
Lawyers worried by over-reliance on SRA discretion post Dentons
Specialist regulatory lawyers have expressed concern that the High Court ruling in the Dentons case places too much reliance on the SRA’s view of the seriousness of rule breaches.
CLC deprecates “apology” by disqualified conveyancer
Disqualified licensed conveyancer Lloyd Davies did not “accurately” reflect the agreed facts of his case in his public statement about it, his regulator said yesterday in an unusual move.
Judge temporarily blocks Trump order targeting Clinton’s lawyers
A judge has issued a temporary block on an executive order from President Donald Trump targeting the major law firm that acted for Hillary Clinton.
Court: Solicitors’ breaches of AML rules “strict liability offences”
Breaches of AML rules are effectively strict liability offences and the SRA does not need to show severity to prove misconduct, the High Court ruled yesterday.
“Clear evidence” that solicitor apprenticeships aid social mobility
There is now “clear evidence” that solicitor apprenticeships are facilitating social mobility, analysis by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has shown.
Costs judge allows £700 an hour in biggest departure from guidelines
A costs judge has allowed a leading US law firm to recover partner costs at £700 per hour, said to be the largest ever departure from the guideline hourly rates.
AI will allow conveyancers “to resume role of trusted advisors”
Artificial intelligence will not mark the end of the traditional conveyancer and will instead put them back into their old trusted advisor role, a roundtable has heard.
SRA’s Philip says retirement plan predated Axiom Ince
The retirement of SRA chief executive Paul Philip has nothing to do with the Axiom Ince scandal, he has emphasised. Meanwhile, the chair of the BSB is stepping down too.
Blog
A new era of legal operations
What we are seeing in the UK legal market is extraordinary change that will greatly influence how firms operate and compete for years to come.
Strong AML controls are meaningless with incomplete data
One expectation as the FCA takes control of anti-money laundering oversight is a move towards more supervision rather than simply writing new rules.
Navigating the legal AI productivity-profitability paradox
Firms are achieving efficiencies through AI, especially in the practice of law. Yet many are struggling to see that reflected in their financial outcomes
