Latest news
Solicitors suspended for role in quick-sale property scheme
Two solicitors who breached the trust of vulnerable clients in need of cash by acting in a dodgy quick home sale scheme have been suspended from practice.
Big Four “cornering the market for legal solutions, not advice”
The Big Four accounting firms are taking advantage of the changing legal market and “cornering the market of solutions, rather than advice”, a report has argued.
Law firm M&A activity focused on non-legal services
Merger and acquisition activity in recent weeks has focused more on complementary, non-legal services rather than straight law firm combinations, our regular round-up shows.
BSB mulls scrapping ineffective student aptitude test
The Bar Standards Board is considering whether to scrap the Bar course aptitude test after an analysis showed that fewer than 1% of students have failed it.
Solicitor who “considered herself to be the client” is struck off
A solicitor “considered herself to be the client” while operating under a lasting power of attorney, sending bills to herself and massively overcharging the elderly client involved.
Law firms “must turn diversity aspirations into reality”
Law firms must try harder to turn aspirations to improve their diversity into reality, according to an employed barrister who has founded a diversity consultancy.
Huge delays persist in taking civil court claims to trial
Delays in cases going through the civil courts reduced slightly in the second quarter of 2021, but it still takes 49 weeks to get a small claim from issue to trial and 71 weeks for larger claims.
Solicitor who stole £275,000 from client’s estate struck off
A solicitor who abused his position as the executor of an estate and stole £275,000 from it to spend on an “excessive lifestyle” has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
City firm’s innovation trainee to develop “tangible deliverable product”
A trainee solicitor starting a pioneering six-month “innovation seat” at a top City firm this week will be developing a “tangible deliverable product” to help the work of the real estate department.
MoJ: “Strong justification” for increasing 129 court fees
There is “strong justification” for increasing 129 court fees by inflation, backdated to 2016, the Ministry of Justice has said.
Blog
Recruitment, retention and reward in the legal accounts world
Understanding the legal finance market is important – not just for those actively involved in it day-to-day but also for leaders within law firms.
From ‘year zero’ to £6.5m – how a law firm found its second life
In 2018, I hit what I call ‘year zero’. On paper, Olliers Solicitors was a top-tier criminal defence firm but beneath the surface, I could see we were at a crossroads.
Linklaters’ chief growth officer takes the ‘blank sheet’ challenge
In the third and final part of this series, Lucy Murphy, chief growth officer at magic circle firm Linklaters, outlines her vision for the law firm of the future.
