Latest news
SRA budget to rise £5.3m this year as cost of living crisis bites
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set to increase its budget by £5.3m in the coming year, with staff costs and the Solicitors Qualifying Exam the main drivers.
Court of Appeal backs decision to make collective action opt-out
The difficulty of people signing up to a collective action and the availability of third-party funding were legitimate factors to take into account in making it opt-out, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Solicitor who injected blood into food not guilty due to insanity
A solicitor who injected food with his blood at a series of supermarkets, causing losses of £500,000, has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Jail for solicitor who plundered elderly client’s bank account
A solicitor struck off for “outrageous plundering” of the assets of an elderly client suffering from dementia has now been jailed for six years.
No retainer between law firm and businessman in £2.5m dispute
There was no express or implied retainer between a law firm and a businessman with a “colourful commercial career” suing it for £2.5m in damages, the High Court has ruled.
Consumers open to optional top-up cover to reduce cost of PII
Consumers are open to the idea of mandatory professional indemnity insurance cover being lower and therefore cheaper, with the option to top it up, research has suggested.
Charities and patient groups urge rethink on negligence costs plans
Nine charities and patients organisations have urged health secretary Sajid Javid to rethink plans to impose fixed costs on clinical negligence claims worth up to £25,000.
Lawyers limit community care cases “to help firms stay afloat”
Community care lawyers are limiting the amount and type of legal aid work they do to ensure that their firms remain financially viable. The field is also struggling with recruitment and retention.
PE-backed PI firm eyes stream of acquisitions after first deal
The biggest specialist personal injury firm in the country, owned by private equity since last October, has made the first in a regular series of acquisitions for the next few years.
Family misfortunes – Acting for relatives lands solicitors in hot water
Two solicitors have found themselves in regulatory bother because of the involvement of family in the matters they were dealing with, one a property purchase and the other a will.
Blog
Beyond the PII premium – rethinking risk
Professional indemnity insurance renewal is often treated as an annual pricing exercise. But it is also a chance to show how effectively you identify, manage and mitigate risk.
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.
Reports
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