Latest news
Partners and staff at listed law firm cash in £14m worth of shares
Partners and staff at DWF – the only law firm listed on the main London Stock Exchange – have sold nearly £14m of shares, some 4% of its issued share capital.
Appeal judges reject “binary” approach to negligence claim
The Court of Appeal has rejected as “too binary” the approach taken by a High Court judge when striking out a negligence claim against lawyers over their former client’s capacity to litigate.
Family lawyers need to replace billing targets with new business model
Family lawyers should scrap billing targets and develop a new business model, a senior practitioner has said, while criticising the failure to continue pushing collaborative law.
New consolidator enters market with plans to build £100m firm
A new consolidator entered the legal market yesterday after a private equity company bought an Essex law firm with the aim of creating a £100m group over the next four to five years.
“A scandal within a scandal”: Call to investigate Post Office lawyers
Researchers have called for an investigation into whether lawyers involved in the Post Office Horizon litigation committed professional misconduct, calling it a “scandal within a scandal”.
Government promises “integrated online dispute resolution”
More “innovative technologies” and an “integrated online dispute resolution process” have been promised by the Ministry of Justice in a fresh bid to reduce the amount of litigation.
Partner who lied to SRA and indemnity insurer is struck off
A partner who lied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority and her indemnity insurer, and allowed her firm to continue trading without insurance, has been struck off.
Volume litigation business targets 30,000 new cases a year
PURE Business Group – which owns two alternative business structures – is targeting a 150% increase in new instructions to 30,000 a year after securing a multi-million-pound funding facility.
Court to tackle law firm’s authority to act in Nigerian oil spill case
The question of whether listed law firm Rosenblatt has authority to act for 27,380 claimants and 479 communities taking action against Shell “must be grappled with”, the High Court judge ruled.
Solicitor agrees to leave profession over property sale irregularities
A solicitor involved in property transactions where due diligence on clients and funds was severely lacking has agreed to leave the profession rather than face a disciplinary tribunal.
Blog
The SRA’s client money reforms: good intentions, questionable execution
On the face of it, the SRA’s plans to tighten protections around client money sounds sensible. The detail, as ever, tells a more complicated story.
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.
