Latest news
MPs approve management specialist as JAC chair
The justice select committee has backed the appointment of management specialist Helen Pitcher as the new chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission.
Bar regulator faces formal LSB action over performance crisis
The LSB has begun talking about taking formal action against the BSB over shortcomings in its performance, which it has emerged include how it has dealt with the Post Office scandal.
Leading Midlands law firm is latest to adopt B Corp status
A leading Midlands law firm has become the fourth in the UK to obtain B Corporation status, meaning that it aims to balance profit with purpose.
Lawyers billing more hours, but write-offs increasing too
Almost all larger law firms are increasing billable hours targets for their lawyers but write-offs are also on the rise, a report has found.
MPs quiz government’s choice for JAC on dual roles and diversity
The prospective chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission has sought to reassure MPs that she will have enough time to combine the post with remaining chair of the CCRC.
Law firms “lack confidence in negotiating fees”
Seven in ten law firms say they lack confidence in negotiating fees while 40% “do not know with any certainty” what proportion of their client relationships are profitable.
Bar regulator counts cost of “extremely challenging year”
The Bar Standards Board has described how it “struggled” to hit timeliness targets in an “extremely challenging year” for its enforcement work.
Listed legal business hints at ditching litigation funding arm after losses
Shares in RBG Holdings PLC – which owns law firms Rosenblatt and Memery Crystal – dived by 23% yesterday after having to write off £4m because of its litigation funding arm.
Wait time for county court trials reaches new all-time high
The time between issue and trial for fast- and multi-track claims has now exceeded 75 weeks, the longest this century, according to the latest government figures.
LSB bids to improve legal sector’s focus on vulnerable clients
Encouraging lawyers to embed client vulnerability into the design of their services is set to be a new Legal Services Board project next year, it said yesterday.
Blog
Mentoring the next generation of litigation leaders
As a female lawyer, from the North, with a state school education, I understand the value of sharing perspectives, experiences and contacts.
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.
