Latest news
Purpose over profit: Profession needs “fundamental” cultural reset
The pandemic has not brought about necessary cultural change in the legal profession, meaning lawyers and their firms need to fundamentally reset their values.
Partner celebrated “huge victory” by accidentally breaking CA embargo
A partner who celebrated a “huge jurisdictional victory” with a WhatsApp message which broke a Court of Appeal embargo has apologised to the court.
Judge terminates appointment of guardian who criticised solicitor
A circuit judge has terminated the appointment of the guardian of a young child in care proceedings after he criticised the father’s solicitor in a letter to the law firm’s head of department.
SRA to reintroduce annual process and fee to stay on roll
Non-practising solicitors will have to apply to the Solicitors Regulation Authority every year once again and pay an annual charge of £30-£40 if they want to stay on the roll from April 2023.
Claimant lawyer relief after further whiplash reform put on ice
Claimant representatives have expressed relief at the government’s announcement that it is not planning further whiplash reforms for the time being.
Consultancy law firms “putting pressure on talent retention”
The combination of Covid and the high cost of indemnity insurance is persuading solicitors thinking of striking out alone to join fee-share consultancies instead, new research has found.
MoJ finally responds to part 2 of whiplash consultation – five years on
The Ministry of Justice today unexpectedly published its response to part 2 of the whiplash consultation which closed in January 2017, with no proposals for any immediate reform.
“Core of dissatisfaction” with lawyers fuelling complaints to LeO
There is an “underlying core of dissatisfaction with legal service provision, expressed through the complaints system, that is not changing or being sufficiently addressed”, the chief legal ombudsman has said.
Knights’ share price dives after profits warning
Shares in law firm consolidator Knights have nearly halved in early trading after it issued a profits warning. The shares opened the day at 365p and had tumbled to 192p at the time of writing.
Nearly two-thirds of new solicitors are women as gender gap widens
The female majority of solicitors, first established in 2017, is set to continue growing, with women now making up almost two-thirds of newly qualifieds.
Blog
Your website is losing clients before they even pick up the phone
Your website visitor is likely already carrying stress before they arrive. If your site adds to it rather than relieves it, you have likely lost a prospective client.
The growing importance of higher limits in personal ATE
While the personal litigation market is undergoing a period of significant change as claims become more complex, much of the ATE insurance market has remained relatively static.
The profession can play a greater role in improving access to justice
In this, the third blog of my series, I focus on what lawyers in the UK can do to improve access to justice through greater professional stewardship.
Reports
Associates
