Latest news
High Court: No case justifies only using grade A fee-earners
A High Court judge said yesterday that he has never come across a case where some of the work could not be delegated to a more junior fee-earner.
Sibling partners embrace employee ownership to maintain team spirit
The sister and brother partners of an Essex law firm have rejected acquisition offers from larger firms and decided to transfer their shares to an employee ownership trust.
Lawtech tipping point “likely to come from non-lawyers”
Non-lawyers will disrupt the legal technology market such as to create a “tipping point”, probably in the next five years, the outgoing head of Lawtech UK has predicted.
Think tank calls for second round of court modernisation
The court modernisation programme has become an “efficiency effort” and a second round of more transformational court reform is needed, the Social Market Foundation has warned.
Accountancy body can finally exit legal services regulation
The Legal Services Board has granted permission for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants to formally pull out of probate regulation, having refused it in January.
Unregulated providers growing share of consumer and SME markets
The unregulated sector may account for up to 9% of the total market for individuals’ legal needs and up to 39% for small businesses, Legal Services Board research has indicated.
Divorce litigation becoming unaffordable for all but the rich, warns judge
Financial remedy litigation seems to be “fast heading for Ritz Hotel status – so expensive that it is only accessible by the very rich”, a senior family judge warned yesterday.
Vos: Online justice will make compulsory mediation debate moot
The question of whether mediation should be mandatory will become moot in the digital justice system currently being built, the Master of the Rolls said last week.
Call to beef up rules on discrimination and harassment by barristers
The rules against discrimination and harassment by barristers need to be strengthened by removing the requirement that the actions be unlawful, two QCs have argued.
Pure Legal’s unsecured creditors set to recover little of £23m owed
The prospects of unsecured creditors of Pure Legal recovering any of the £23m they are owed have dimmed significantly in the first six months of its administration.
Blog
The SRA needs to admit it got it wrong about SLAPPs
The High Court judgment in Ashley Hurst v SRA in January raises serious questions about the regulator’s approach to allegations of SLAPP-like behaviour.
Why menopause support belongs on every law firm’s agenda
Progression in the law slows significantly as women approach senior leadership. Most will be at the height of their careers around the average age menopause symptoms begin.
Law firms need to go beyond document checks
At the root of every failed compliance review is a familiar phrase: a calm assertion of “but we did a document check”.
