Latest news
BSB highlights freedom of expression in social media guidance
The Bar Standards Board has introduced new guidance on social media which “gives greater recognition to a barrister’s right to freedom of expression”.
Platform aims to help smaller law firms “democratise” group actions
Group actions will no longer be the preserve of a few large claimant firms, according to the founders of an online platform whose development was supported by the SRA’s Legal Access Challenge.
Non-binary barrister: “Judges can be ignorant of gender neutral address”
A barrister who identifies as non-binary sometimes has to endure a judge’s ignorance about how to address them correctly, a meeting heard this week.
Solicitor jailed in Germany for role in VAT carousel fraud struck off
A solicitor convicted in Germany of seven counts of aiding and abetting tax evasion as part of a VAT carousel fraud has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Number of non-barrister judges hits new low
The proportion of court judges who are not barristers has sunk to 31%, falling from 37% in 2014, the latest statistics from the Ministry of Justice have revealed.
BSB to probe if solicitors give clients choice when instructing barristers
The Bar Standards Board is to gather evidence from solicitors on how they choose a barrister, including whether they offer their clients a choice – or even take account of a client’s views.
Ex-Olympic hopeful solicitor: “Legal winners will be innovators”
A former Team GB badminton player who abandoned his dreams of Olympic gold to become a solicitor and now a legal tech entrepreneur has launched a digital contracting product.
High Court strikes out “fanciful” allegations against law firm and QC
The High Court has struck out “inherently fanciful” allegations made by a former City partner against, among others, another former City partner, a law firm and a QC.
Solicitor judge misappropriated £288,000 from law firms
A head of commercial property and deputy district judge has been struck off for taking over £288,000 from two Essex law firms and their clients over a period of 16 years.
Partner who used client’s estate to buy a house struck off
A solicitor who used money from a client’s estate to buy a house he then lived in has been struck off, with the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal saying the public would be “horrified” by his actions.
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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