Latest news
Number of law firms without indemnity insurance nears 200
A total of 185 law firms have applied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for the extended indemnity period of insurance, having failed to secure cover by 1 October – although 10 have already secured a policy.
QualitySolicitors urges TV viewers to love lawyers
The next stage of QualitySolicitors’ latest advertising campaign to persuade the public to love lawyers went live yesterday with a series of television adverts. Meanwhile, Slater & Gordon launched the latest part of its TV campaign with an advert focused on employment law.
High Court gives green light to QASA judicial review
Criminal barristers were yesterday given permission to pursue their judicial review against the Legal Services Board over the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA). The legal challenge is that QASA “offends fundamental issues of justice”.
Grant shuffled out as PM names ex-City solicitor as new justice minister
Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed solicitor Shailesh Vara as a junior minister at the Ministry of Justice, replacing Helen Grant. Ms Grant has been moved sideways to the Department of Culture, Media and Sports after just a year in post.
Axiom chief urges more and faster change in legal market
The speed and scale of change in the legal market – despite innovations such as alternative business structures – do not match its size, the founder of pioneering business Axiom has claimed. Mark Harris suggested that this was in part down to lawyers’ reluctance to fail.
Grayling unveils plan for first UK Global Law Summit
The first ever UK Global Law Summit – an event bringing together the government, legal professional bodies and business – will take place in 2015, the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, justice secretary Chris Grayling has announced.
First4lawyers unveils £10m advertising campaign
Leading claims management company First4lawyers yesterday launched a £10m year-long marketing campaign with a new television commercial featuring tennis player-turned-commentator Andrew Castle.
BSB opens up public access to baby barristers
Junior barristers with less than three years’ practising experience can now undertake public access work. Existing public access barristers will also have up to two years to undertake additional top-up training or cease to conduct public access work.
Indemnity insurance meltdown fails to materialise
Predictions of a professional indemnity insurance apocalypse appear to have been well wide of the mark, with just 69 firms so far notifying the Solicitors Regulation Authority that they have triggered the new extended indemnity period.
“You want a quote? Byron or Shakespeare?” – how law firms fail to convert telephone enquiries
Law firms are suffering from a “nationwide epidemic of missed opportunities” because of the way they deal with telephone enquiries, new mystery shopping research has claimed. In 97% of calls, the handler failed to ask if the caller wanted to go ahead or make an appointment.
Blog
Supreme Court redraws line between member and employee in LLPs
For anyone advising professional services firms on LLP structuring, and of course for those in LLPs themselves, last week’s Supreme Court ruling is an essential read.
Charting a new course for publicly funded legal services
The current Legal Aid Agency model is inherently flawed and it goes beyond mere data breaches – it cannot innovatively respond to increasing challenges.
Preparing people for the pace of technological change
While technology often dominates the conversation, I believe the most important challenge facing law firms is not adopting new tools – it is preparing people to adapt alongside them.
