Latest news
Legal Services Board eyes 14% increase in budget
The Legal Services Board is considering a 14% increase in its budget in a bid to strengthen its “direct oversight” of the frontline regulators’ performance.
SDT was wrong to slash SRA’s prosecution costs, High Court rules
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal was wrong to slash the costs of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in a successful prosecution by 78%, the High Court has ruled.
Law firms “may avoid high-risk work” under new complaints rules
Law firms may avoid carrying out work in “high-risk sectors” under the new regime planned by the Legal Services Board for client complaints, the Law Society has warned.
Lawrence the ‘AI paralegal’ passes SQE with flying colours
An ‘AI paralegal’ has aced the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, demonstrating his functioning legal knowledge is in line with the regulator’s expectations of junior solicitors.
Tribunal approves first post-PACCAR litigation funding agreement
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has approved a litigation funding agreement that was amended to take account of the Supreme Court ruling in PACCAR.
MPs launch inquiry into lengthening probate delays
MPs have launched an inquiry into probate in the wake of mounting concern about how long the process is taking, with HM Courts & Tribunals Service admitting to rising levels of complaints.
Steady growth this year at two of UK’s listed law firms
Two of the profession’s AIM-listed law firms this week announced positive trading updates, with revenues up by 7% at Gateley and 6% at Knights.
Judge penalises claimant for “unrealistic” costs budget
A judge has penalised a claimant for submitting an “unrealistic” costs budget, saying he hoped it would encourage parties to negotiate them before reaching court.
Disbarred barrister convicted over antisemitic blog posts
A former barrister who was disbarred for antisemitic and racist tweets has now been convicted for grossly offensive antisemitic material posted on his blog.
Solicitor accepts “substantial damages” over Times libel
A solicitor whose political ambitions were derailed by a libellous article about his legal work for miners has accepted “substantial” damages from The Times.
Blog
The cost of systemic failure and childbirth injuries
Recent reports show that the NHS has paid almost £3.5bn in medical claims around childbirth injuries over the past six years.
Mazur: when regulators make simple things complicated
What the last six months have shown is that supervision cannot be treated as a background compliance obligation quietly managed somewhere in a firm’s operational processes.
How unstoppable AI is reshaping UK legal practice
At a time when most technology innovation still flows from the US and China, UK lawtech is attracting growing international attention and capital.
