Latest news
Solicitor paid £77,000 in fees into his own bank account
A solicitor who admitted paying almost £77,000 in fees into his personal bank account from over 100 clients has been struck off.
Only one in five chambers signed up to Cyber Essentials
Just 19% of barristers’ chambers currently meet the Bar Council and Law Society’s joint recommendation to achieve Cyber Essentials certification, new research has found.
Lawyer “under new duty” to have functional understanding of AI
Lawyers have a new duty to have a “competent functional understanding” of artificial intelligence as its use spreads across the profession, a specialist has argued.
PE-backed firm eyes ‘hub and spoke’ consolidation strategy
The private equity house that acquired Midlands firm Higgs last week is to adopt a different approach to its competitors in pursuing a ‘buy and build’ strategy.
Associate who billed 23 hours in a day struck off
A senior associate at national firm Irwin Mitchell who recorded 23 hours of chargeable time in one day has been struck off for submitting dishonest timesheets.
Court of Appeal ruling gives renewed hope for data breach claims
The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision that appeared to limit the rights of data breach victims to bring claims.
Will writer’s failures help convince judge to find undue influence
Failures by a will-writing company were among circumstantial evidence that led a High Court master to decide a will was made under undue influence.
SRA uncovers significant shortcomings among volume claims firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has uncovered a significant amount of poor practice in the way law firms are managing high-volume consumer claims.
Black Country law firm becomes latest to take private equity
Black Country-based Higgs has become the latest law firm to take private equity funding after striking a deal with August Equity – which first expressed an interest in the legal market 13 years ago.
PE-backed business recovery firm aims to double size of legal arm
Leonard Curtis has announced ambitions to double the size of its law firm after Pollen Street Capital took a majority stake in the restructuring and turnaround business.
Blog
The importance of benchmarking reports – and lessons on profitability
Regional firms reported the largest revenue growth this year (12%), outpacing their City counterparts. Yet many are not converting that growth into profitability.
Fixed recoverable costs: Sacrificing justice for predictability?
The extended fixed recoverable costs regime is failing to achieve its stated objectives. Instead of promoting fairness and efficiency, the rules are creating anomalies that undermine justice.
Expectations keep rising, so prioritise client experience
Law firms are facing growing pressure to place greater focus on client experience or risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive legal market.
