Latest news
Law firms generate £1.4bn in fees from clinical negligence cases
Clinical negligence law firms earned around £1.4bn in fees during 2021/22, an 8% increase on the year before, according to new research that also predicted Covid could lead to more claims.
“Unjustifiably antagonised” lord justice should have recused himself
A lord justice of appeal who became “unjustifiably antagonised” by a defendant’s “persistence” in challenging his decisions should have recused himself, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
LSB backs huge cut in time limit for complaining to Legal Ombudsman
The Legal Services Board has, after “very extensive debate”, backed a cut in the time limit for complaining to the Legal Ombudsman from six years to only one year.
MoJ proposes compulsory mediation for claims worth up to £10k
Mediation will be made compulsory for all small claims worth up to £10,000, potentially settling 20,000 cases that would otherwise end up in court, the Ministry of Justice proposed today.
Ban for PI fee-earner who used Covid as excuse for missing deadlines
A fee-earner at Slater & Gordon who falsely claimed he had missed litigation deadlines because of scanning errors and not being in the office due to the pandemic has been banned from working in law firms.
Lawyers “will walk” if hybrid working demands not met
Lawyers working in large law firms are committed to working remotely from home post-pandemic, with almost half willing to walk away if told they have to attend the office full-time.
Law firms not responding quickly enough to new competitors
Traditional law firms are failing to adapt quickly enough to respond to new competitors, or to differentiate their services by offering alternative approaches, research for listed law firm DWF has found.
Judge condemns “trench warfare” over witness statements
The rules on witness statements should not be seen as encouragement to identify “as many instances of non-compliance as possible for use in trench warfare”, the High Court has said.
Solicitor told trainee to draft misleading defence to barrister’s fee claim
A solicitor who told a trainee to draft an “incorrect and misleading” defence to an unpaid fees claim from a barrister – which ignored his firm’s liability for the money – has been fined £7,500.
Websites of top-100 law firms “slow and full of broken links”
A study of top 100 law firm websites has rated only one as ‘excellent’ in terms of speed and only 13% as having no broken links, with many riddled with basic SEO errors.
Blog
What is tech bloat and why is it a problem for law firms?
Too many law firms are adopting shiny new tech without first retiring their legacy systems, causing duplication and unnecessary costs.
The civil courts and the digital divide
Despite the government’s decision to increase Ministry of Justice funding, its budget for 2025-26 is still 14% lower in real terms than in 2007-08.
The Decent Homes Standard scandal
It is well established that the UK has the highest proportion of inadequate housing in all of Europe. But what if the heart of the problem is even worse than we think?
