Latest news
City law firms using diversity schemes for “reputation laundering”
The efforts of City law firms to become more diverse and inclusive are a form of “reputation laundering”, offering only the “illusion of change”, an academic has argued.
Solicitor validly served with claim at address on SRA website
A sole practitioner was validly served with a negligence claim at an address listed for him on the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s website, the High Court has ruled.
Tribunal lifts condition on solicitor “manipulated” by timeshare scheme
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has lifted a condition on a former law firm boss who admitted she had “permitted herself to be manipulated” by a timeshare scheme.
Law firms double revenue growth amid salary pressures
Law firms doubled their revenue growth in the last financial year as they prepared to reward staff with salary rises, research has found.
ChatGPT “struggles to cope” with high street law
AI chatbot ChatGPT has struggled to cope with a dozen legal scenarios, all based on the kind of questions faced by high street lawyers, put to it in a test by a solicitor.
Partner ignored SRA’s warning over providing banking facilities
A partner who ignored a warning letter from the SRA telling him not to use his client account as a banking facility, which he then did, has been fined £10,000.
Covid clinical negligence protocol cut number of litigated claims
A protocol agreed in the wake of Covid-19 to better manage clinical negligence claims during the pandemic is remaining in place after it appeared to reduce the number of contested cases.
IP law firm fails in bid to strike out ‘secret commissions’ claim
A leading intellectual property law firm has failed in its bid to strike out a representative action brought over ten of millions of pounds in alleged secret commissions it earned on IP renewals.
Negligence claim against law firm to go ahead after limitation ruling
A negligence claim over inheritance tax advice provided by City law firm Charles Russell Speechlys is to go ahead after the High Court held that it is not time-barred.
Litigator able to bring disability discrimination claim, tribunal rules
A litigator who had emergency heart surgery three months before being sacked was disabled and so can take forward a discrimination claim against his ex-firm, a tribunal has ruled.
Blog
The profession can play a greater role in improving access to justice
In this, the third blog of my series, I focus on what lawyers in the UK can do to improve access to justice through greater professional stewardship.
Does AI work for conveyancers? We asked those on the front line
What is the view on AI from conveyancers themselves? Based on a Dye & Durham’s roundtable discussion on AI, the answer is: it depends.
Is the legal profession ready for agentic AI?
An AI agent is difficult to supervise. By design, it works in the background. It means a solicitor can be held responsible for work they had no real means to oversee.
Reports
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