Latest news
Raab eyes “drastic action” to keep family disputes out of court
Justice secretary Dominic Raab is “in the market for something quite drastic and bold” to reduce the number of private law family cases in the courts, he said yesterday in a wide-ranging discussion.
MPs call for inquiry into conveyancers who “mis-sold” leasehold advice
There should be an inquiry into the “mis-selling scandal” of housing developers pointing buyers to preferred conveyancers, who then did not advise on escalating ground rents, MPs said this week.
MedCo goes it alone as it bids to reduce registration costs
Medical reporting portal MedCo has begun employing its own staff for the first time after the Motor Insurer’s Bureau stopped providing managed services.
Solicitor used prisoner’s inheritance to pay off overdraft
A solicitor who used money inherited by a jailed client to pay off his law firm’s overdraft has been struck off, with an attempt to blame a former employee dismissed as “nonsensical”.
Working days “could be replaced by aggregated maximum time”
Future professionals’ working lives could be based not on “working days or even patterns” but on “aggregated maximum time” during which they are accountable to their employer.
Starmer names one-time legal publisher as shadow justice secretary
An MP whose main professional link with the law is a spell as head of publishing at the Law Society at the turn of the century was yesterday named as Labour’s shadow justice secretary.
Judges and lawyers call for curbs on misuse of SLAPPs
Senior judges and lawyers on a panel chaired by former Supreme Court president Lord Neuberger have called for legal reforms to curb ‘strategic lawsuits against public participation’ (SLAPPs).
Ex-barrister wins appeal over first-ever life sentence for perverting justice
A former barrister who received the first-ever life sentence for perverting the course of justice, over claims she made against another barrister, has won her appeal against sentence.
Law firm and lawyer fined over schemes that avoided £3m in SDLT
A North-West law firm and one of its partners have been fined for undertaking 113 conveyancing transactions over four years that avoided £3m in stamp duty land tax.
IBA report links wellbeing to equality and diversity
Women, minorities and young people in the legal profession are most likely to suffer from depression, showing a link between wellbeing and issues of equality, diversity and inclusion.
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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