Latest news
Partner fined for AML and banking facility failures
A partner in a London law firm has been fined £25,000 for allowing its client account to be used as a banking facility and failing to make adequate identity checks.
Call for greater capture and sharing of “valuable” legal data
Legal data is a “valuable asset” which needs to be managed responsibly, while the belief that all types of legal data are sensitive and confidential is a “common misconception”, LawtechUK has said.
CA upholds ban on solicitor taking assignment of client’s action
The public policy behind the ban on a solicitor taking an assignment of their client’s cause of action prior to judgment holds good in the era of DBAs, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Neuberger: Convention that ex-judges cannot give legal advice is over
Any convention that former judges should not advise clients after they retire from the bench has come to an end, the ex-president of the Supreme Court has suggested.
Russell Jones & Walker returns – kind of – as S&G exits crime
A new law firm called RJW Legal, made up of the Manchester-based criminal law team of Slater & Gordon, starts work today as part of consolidator Metamorph Law.
Property listing rules “will encourage earlier lawyer involvement”
New rules on the information that must be included in property listings will encourage sellers to instruct conveyancers earlier in the process, National Trading Standards has said.
Global network makes second UK law firm acquisition this year
International professional services group ETL Global has unveiled its fourth law firm deal in England and Wales after one of its earlier acquisitions bought a fellow London commercial firm.
Booming legal market triggers talent war and salary hikes – survey
The healthy state of the legal market, with law firms expanding their range of services, is leading to a talent war and rapidly rising salaries, new research has found.
Union presses for formal recognition by LeO amid “escalating crisis”
The Legal Ombudsman is in crisis but “refusing to acknowledge serious and fundamental concerns” facing the organisation, the Public and Commercial Services union has warned.
SRA: “Lack of trust and visibility” in online self-help legal tools
There is a lack of trust and visibility of interactive self-help legal tools that are being developed to help access to justice, such as chatbots and online documents, the SRA has found.
Blog
A letter from the SRA? Your first reaction matters
An email from the SRA has a way of rearranging a working day. It arrives in the same inbox as everything else, often in the same measured tone, yet it carries a different weight.
Regulate sole practices on evidence, not turnover
For a sole practice, the SRA’s plan that I cannot hold a compliance role if my firm has more than £600,000 of turnover is not a measure of risk. It is a ceiling on growth.
Is Google becoming pay-to-play for law firms?
For years, law firms have been told that SEO is the long-term alternative to paying for every click. That principle hasn’t disappeared but search results have changed significantly.
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