Latest news
Unregulated paralegal firm “conducted litigation” in possession claim
A CILEX member running an unregulated business conducted litigation in breach of the Legal Services Act 2007 when she acted on a possession claim, the High Court has ruled.
PE-backed family law firm makes second acquisition in a year
A second acquisition in a year by private equity-owned Stowe Family Law leads the way in our round-up of the latest activity among alternative business structures.
Solicitor kept £60,000 of client funds as cash in firm’s safe
A solicitor who kept £60,000 of client funds in cash in the firm’s safe has been banned indefinitely from managing law firms.
New Zealand urged to embrace ABSs and independent regulation
A review of legal services in New Zealand has recommended the introduction of alternative business structures and an independent regulator.
Solicitor lost £230k of client money after falling for investment scam
A solicitor who lost £230,000 of a client’s money by moving it into her personal bank account and then investing in a scheme which turned out to be a scam has been struck off.
Clients “holding City law firms to account on diversity”
Clients are holding City law firms to account on diversity and firms that fail to respond to this pressure will lose work, the chair of the City of London Law Society has said.
Bar courses still unaffordable, students tell regulator
Nearly four in five Bar students still regard their courses as unaffordable despite an average drop of £4,700 in fees, research for the Bar Standards Board has found.
New duty on licensed conveyancers to treat customers fairly
An explicit requirement on licensed conveyancers to treat customers fairly has been adopted by their regulator as part of a revised set of ethical standards.
Leading firms sign up to rainmaker programme for female lawyers
Some 40 leading law firms have so far signed up to an e-mentoring programme that aims to help female lawyers gain the business development skills they need to become rainmakers.
Solicitor “grossly abused his position” to dupe investors
A solicitor sacked by national firm Blake Morgan during his probationary period “grossly abused his position” by duping two investors into handing over money on the basis he was still working there.
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.
