Latest news
Hiring star lawyers “can lower quality of service”
Hiring ‘star’ or elite commercial lawyers often reduces the quality of the teams they join, a study has found, with some large law firms panicking about losing big clients unless they had “big names”.
MR: Regulators and courts need to control use of ChatGPT in litigation
Legal regulators and the courts may need to control whether and how lawyers can use AI systems like ChatGPT in litigation, the Master of the Rolls has said.
Ex-judges “need guidance or regulation” on post-retirement work
The Post Office’s use of two former senior judges in its defence of the sub-postmaster prosecutions indicates the need for guidance or regulation on what judges do in retirement.
SRA rebukes lawyers for bankruptcy and costs misconduct
A solicitor who continued to practise after being made bankrupt and a fee-earner who failed to return disallowed costs to Court of Protection clients have been rebuked.
SRA looks to “harness the potential of unbundling”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority wants to “harness the potential of unbundling to broaden access to legal services and increase consumer choice”, it said yesterday.
High Court: Letter asserting solicitor’s lien was not defamatory
The High Court has thrown out a defamation claim over a letter sent by one law firm to another asserting a solicitor’s lien over £100,000 of any damages awarded to its former clients.
Appeal judges uphold law firm’s entitlement to £300,000 fixed fee
The Court of Appeal has upheld an award of £300,000 to a small central London law firm owed under a retainer which the client had claimed was not payable.
MPs playing “little recognised role” by providing access to justice
MPs in Westminster and members of the Senedd Cymru are playing a “little recognised role” in providing access to justice for people with social welfare problems.
Carr appointed first ever female Lord Chief Justice
Dame Sue Carr was yesterday appointed the first female Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, just three years after joining the Court of Appeal.
City solicitor apprentice initiative “could snowball”
An initiative by 50 City law firms to increase the number of solicitor apprentices “could snowball”, the chair of the City of London Law Society training committee has predicted.
Blog
From ‘year zero’ to £6.5m – how a law firm found its second life
In 2018, I hit what I call ‘year zero’. On paper, Olliers Solicitors was a top-tier criminal defence firm but beneath the surface, I could see we were at a crossroads.
Linklaters’ chief growth officer takes the ‘blank sheet’ challenge
In the third and final part of this series, Lucy Murphy, chief growth officer at magic circle firm Linklaters, outlines her vision for the law firm of the future.
The ‘blank sheet’ challenge, part 2 – what would you do differently?
In the second part of this blog series, Shainul Kassam, managing director of small London firm Fortune Law, sets out how she would set up a law firm now.
