Latest news
Legal market’s strong growth in 2024 set to continue this year
The UK legal services market grew by 10% to £52bn last year and is heading towards a strong 2025 too, according to new research.
Oligarch’s ex-wife drops negligence claim against former solicitors
Top family law firm Payne Hicks Beach has expressed itself “pleased but not surprised” by the decision of a high-profile former client to drop her negligence action against it.
Narrow AML rules allow lawyers to act for “lawful but awful” clients
The narrow focus of the AML regime on criminality leaves solicitors “free to facilitate and legitimise the flow of corrupt capital while staying within the bounds of the law”, says a major report.
HMRC to report more tax lawyers to regulators in crackdown
Tax lawyers face more reports by HMRC to their regulators and the cloak of legal professional privilege being pierced under government plans unveiled yesterday.
Ex-law firm owner obtains freezing order against successor
The High Court has issued a freezing order against the non-lawyer owner of a law firm the SRA shut down last year, at the behest of the solicitor who sold it to her.
HOFA banned for concealing firm’s dire finances from SRA
The HOFA of a consumer claims firm that went bust in 2023 concealed its financial difficulties from the SRA in the run-up to its collapse.
SDT: Solicitor gave undertaking even if he did not call it one
An assurance given by a solicitor in a conveyancing transaction was an undertaking, even if he did not use the word, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has ruled.
Public would be “shocked” by how credit hire works, says judge
The public would be “shocked” to learn how the credit hire industry operates, a senior district judge has suggested in a case where he had to award £55,000 for an unnecessary 96-day car hire.
“Outrageous” delays persist for complex probate matters
Improvements in the probate system are not filtering through to complex cases, according to a solicitor who has lodged a complaint over “outrageous” delays she has suffered.
£86m of client money went through in-house solicitor’s personal account
An elderly in-house solicitor who handled reserved legal work without authorisation, and used his personal bank account to process £86m of client money, has agreed to leave the profession.
Blog
How AI presents real opportunities for barristers
AI presents real opportunities to improve access to justice and to support barristers in day-to-day legal practice. But we all need to understand and mitigate the risks.
Not everything can be a competition issue – a new dawn for consumer redress
Last month, the Law Commission launched a new project to “consider the potential introduction of a consumer class actions regime” in England and Wales.
Modern search is about ‘knowledge’ retrieval
Search has long been understood as data retrieval – the ability to call back information and check a box on finding something. Legal professionals today need more of a 360-degree view on a matter.
