Latest news
Innovation the big benefit of remote working, law firms say
Remote working during the pandemic has accelerated innovation at law firms but made supervision more difficult, a survey has found.
SRA pays solicitor record £228k in costs over “improper” prosecution
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has paid a record £228,000 in costs to a solicitor whose prosecution a disciplinary tribunal found was “improperly brought and pursued”.
Fraudsters lied about retaining Manchester solicitors to fool NatWest
The fraudsters whose activities led to NatWest being fined £265m over anti-money laundering failures lied about having retained a Manchester law firm in a bid to deflect suspicions.
Ince launches “most wide-ranging” private wealth offering
Listed law firm Ince has heralded a return to City firms offering private client services by launching an integrated private wealth offering for corporate clients.
Legal Ombudsman must take “radical action” to cut complaints backlog
The Law Society has called on the Legal Ombudsman to take “radical action” to cut the growing backlog of complaints, saying progress in performance has been too slow to date.
Conveyancing income on the rise at Simplify in pre-attack results
The Simplify conveyancing group saw its turnover from legal work increase by 3% to nearly £125m in its last financial year, which does not cover the recent cyber-attack.
HMCTS: Public prefers remote hearings but professionals see declining respect
Public users of the courts generally prefer remote to in-person hearings, but they have led to declining levels of respect, formality and concentration, according to government research.
Partner and law firm fined for breaching multiple undertakings
A partner and his law firm have each been fined after failing to deliver on 32 undertakings and confirmations within the agreed timescale – with six still outstanding five years after the transaction concluded.
City firms “must weigh cost of losing female talent” in reward strategy
Big City law firms should take into account in their balance sheet the cost of losing good people ‘by the back door’ by focusing so heavily on earnings ‘through the front door’ such as billable hours.
Fixed costs extension set to happen in less than a year
The Ministry of Justice wants the extension of fixed recoverable costs across the fast-track and in most money cases worth up to £100,000 to take effect from October 2022, it has emerged.
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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