Latest news
Law PLC delivers for investors as listed firms’ share prices soar
Listed law firms proved a profitable investment last year, with the annual Legal Futures analysis showing that four of them saw their share prices increase by at least 40%.
‘Director deadlock’ on future direction contributed to failure of top PI firm
Multiple factors contributed to the demise of one-time personal injury giant Hampson Hughes, including the whiplash reforms and the directors disagreeing on its future direction.
Funder refused permission to use privileged material in ‘fraud’ claim
The High Court has refused a litigation funder’s bid to use privileged material to overturn a divorce settlement which it says deliberately provides no assets for the wife to pay the £1m she owes it.
Women more than twice as successful as men in applying for silk
Women were more than twice as likely as men to be appointed Queen’s Counsel this year, it has emerged, after 101 new QCs were named yesterday.
Bar Standards Board lacks “capability, capacity and resources”
The Bar Standards Board lacks access to “sufficient capability, capacity and resources”, the Legal Services Board said yesterday in its annual review of all the legal regulators’ performance.
Covid boosted conveyancing fees and role of ‘dabblers’
The pandemic and stamp duty holiday led to conveyancing fees going up sharply, while ‘dabblers’ played a vital role in supporting the market, an industry roundtable has heard.
Fear of catching Covid “not a protected belief”, tribunal rules
A woman’s fear of catching Covid-19 and need to protect herself and others is not a philosophical belief for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, a tribunal has ruled.
Scottish ABSs to go live with professional majority ownership – for now
The Law Society of Scotland has been authorised to regulate licensed legal services providers, the equivalent of ABSs, more than 10 years after the law allowing for them came into force.
Judges who ‘sit up’ in higher courts win claim for extra pay
The Ministry of Justice is facing a new pay-out to judges after an employment tribunal found that salaried judges who ‘sit up’ in higher courts from time to time should be paid more for the work.
BTAS beefs up sanctions for sexual misconduct further still
The Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Service has gone a step further in toughening up its sanctions guidance for barristers found to have been involved in sexual misconduct and discrimination.
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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