Latest news
Firms should consider setting ethnic minority diversity targets, says SRA
Law firms should consider setting diversity targets for BME lawyers and staff, just as some have done with women, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said.
Medium-sized firms lead way on fee income, profits and PEP
Law firms with 11 to 25 partners are leading the way out of recession, with rising fee incomes, net profits and a 21% surge in profit per equity partner (PEP), research has found.
Solicitors more diverse than society, profession-wide survey shows
Solicitors in law firms are slightly more diverse than the rest of society, the results of the profession-wide diversity monitoring undertaken by the Solicitors Regulation Authority have shown.
‘Direct access chambers’ opens for business and lands group action
A set of chambers specialising in direct access cases and working only on a fixed fee basis has opened in Cheltenham. Cotswold Barristers also claims to have landed the biggest direct access case so far.
Laws on legal professional privilege “need to catch up with digital age”
National laws on protecting privileged legal communications are outdated and need to be brought into the digital age, according to the body representing Europe’s lawyers in a major new report.
NAH goes public and outlines major growth ambitions
Trading in shares in National Accident Helpline (NAH) began on AIM yesterday as it emerged that Minster Law – the major claimant practice owned by insurance group BGL – is taking 15% of potential clients the company receives.
Single parent community interest company launches major family law panel
A community interest company which offers support to separating parents through its websites OnlyMums and OnlyDads, has launched a family law panel which it says could become “the place to go as the starting point for family law matters”.
New LSB chief: primary legislation needed to reduce regulatory complexity
Sir Michael Pitt, the new chairman of the Legal Services Board, has said that primary legislation will be needed to reduce the complexity of legal regulation and ensure it moves “at market pace”.
Increasing number of clients “can’t be bothered to complain” about their lawyer
Public awareness of the Legal Ombudsman is continuing to fall, while the number of dissatisfied clients who do not bother to complain is increasing, a survey has found.
City law firms ‘lead way’ on social mobility
City law firms like Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy are leading the way in their approach to social mobility and recruitment when compared to non-legal professionals, a report has argued.
Blog
Reorientation in the AI era must begin with the client
Much of the discussion about AI in the legal industry focuses on technology: which tools to adopt and which tasks might get automated. But this misses the deeper story.
Awaab’s Law phase 2: New hazards council tenants can now claim for
The conversation on housing disrepair is moving beyond damp and mould alone. With the rollout of phase 2 of Awaab’s Law, the scope of issues covered is expanding significantly,
Beyond PCP: Can regulators and lawyers work better together next time?
Nearly a decade after the Financial Conduct Authority began investigating the car finance industry, the story of the PCP commission scandal is still unfinished.
