Latest news
Solicitor who founded listed legal business quits as CEO
The solicitor who set up the law firm MJ Hudson and then took it public has announced his intention to resign as group chief executive in the wake of its shares being suspended.
Paralegal awarded £30k over pregnancy discrimination and low pay
A solicitor has been ordered to pay a paralegal over £30,000 after an employment tribunal found he discriminated against her once she became pregnant.
High Court rejects “pugnacious” ex-solicitor’s strike-off appeal
A solicitor struck off for making false and misleading statements on applications for professional indemnity insurance has failed in her appeal to the High Court.
Huge scope for smaller law firms to improve ESG
There is huge scope for smaller law firms to improve their ESG performance, while all firms should have policies on which clients they will and will not work for.
Judge inappropriately interrupted cross-examination, CA rules
A judge who interrupted a claimant 52 times during cross-examination acted inappropriately, the Court of Appeal has held. It accepted he was trying to help the claimant.
Charter aims to “shift the dial” on female barristers’ earnings
The Chancery Bar Association has published a charter on fairness in work allocation and earnings which aims to “shift the dial” in a favour of female barristers.
New funder for public interest cases which “clarify the law”
A new initiative launching next month aims to provide a stream of funding for public interest cases which “clarify the law” and are unsuitable for crowdfunding.
Ask me anything – Allen & Overy adopts ChatGPT-style legal AI tool
Global law firm Allen & Overy has become the first law firm to adopt an AI assistant similar to ChatGPT to help speed up the work of more than 3,500 lawyers.
BSB leaves door open to reaccreditation of barristers
The Bar Standards Board has said it is open to “revisiting” its position that a reaccreditation scheme to ensure the competence of barristers is unnecessary.
SRA to keep many disciplinary decisions online for longer
Details of many disciplinary and other regulatory actions taken by the Solicitors Regulation Authority will be published for longer than they are now, the regulator has decided.
Blog
Why housing disrepair claims against councils have leapt by nearly 400%
Housing disrepair claims against councils have surged dramatically in recent years, with some areas reporting increases approaching a staggering 400%.
Client accounts: Opportunity, obligation and the risks in between
The profitability gap between well-run firms and the rest is not primarily a function of size, location or practice area – it is a function of financial management.
Motor finance – the FCA is more worried about banks than consumers
The Financial Conduct Authority’s motor finance redress scheme announced last week amounts to one of the largest ever consumer failures by the regulator.
