Latest news
Conveyancers “have duty to advise clients on climate risk” to properties
There is a “growing body of opinion” that conveyancers have a duty of care to advise clients on the risks climate change represents to property, it was claimed today.
Court of Appeal: No implied duty of good faith in solicitor’s retainer
There is no implied duty of good faith in a solicitor’s retainer, the Court of Appeal has ruled in rejecting an appeal by a law firm trying to recover £3m in fees from a former client.
Ex-partner fails in challenge to City firm’s accounts
A law firm was wrong to make provision in its statutory accounts for all of the money owed by a fixed-share partner, but not when it came to the partners’ accounts, the High Court has ruled.
American Bar Association motion exposes ABS fault line
The widening fault-lines in the US legal profession over alternative business structures (ABSs) are set to be on show this week at the American Bar Association annual conference.
Judges to be disciplined by lay majority panels
Disciplinary panels hearing cases of judicial misconduct will have lay majorities, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the judiciary have decided, as part of a major overhaul of the system.
Law Society and SRA to recoup extra £10m from solicitors
Practising fees for solicitors are to increase by 10%, or £10.4m, in the next year, with the practising certificate fee to rise £20, the Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority have proposed.
Claim against law firm lost by court still thrown out for late service
The High Court has upheld a decision to throw out a negligence claim against a law firm because it was served too late – even though the court had actually lost the claim.
EAT reinstates discrimination claim against law firm
A tribunal was wrong to dismiss a discrimination claim against a law firm on the basis of the claimant’s non-attendance at the hearing, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled.
Judge overrides Essex firm’s objections to move case to Leeds
The liaison judge for the Administrative Court in the north has rejected an appeal from an Essex law firm that said it was not “convenient” for a case to be transferred from London to Leeds.
New conveyancing ABS using chatbot to cut transaction times
A conveyancing alternative business structure launched last month aims to cut transaction times by at least a month, using a chatbot to help clients complete a seller’s pack.
Blog
The AI governance gap in law firms and why it matters now
A third of law firms are already using AI tools with no formal policy in place to govern how AI gets used, what data goes into it, or who’s accountable when something goes wrong.
Information isn’t oversight – lessons from the PM Law review
The PM Law review’s real findings perhaps point to a failure mode applying to any organisation sitting on scattered risk information.
AI can do the work but it cannot inherit the lawyer’s duty
What happens when lawyers delegate cognitive work to AI but remain personally responsible for judgements they may no longer have independently reasoned through?
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