Latest news
CJC backs new pre-action protocols and ‘good faith obligation’
The Civil Justice Council has set out a shopping list of potential changes to pre-action protocols (PAPs), including a summary costs procedure and new PAPs.
Tribunal: Barrister’s ‘fundamentally dishonest’ claim was not fraudulent
A barrister found to have brought a fundamentally dishonest personal injury claim was not disbarred after a tribunal did not accept that his case was actually fraudulent.
Director “had no standing” to challenge assignment to litigation funder
A company director had no standing to challenge an insolvency practitioner’s assignment of a claim against her parents to a litigation funder, the High Court has ruled.
QC criticises NHS Resolution for “unacceptable” delay in settling huge claim
A leading QC has criticised NHS Resolution for “unacceptable” delays in settling one of the largest ever settlements in a clinical negligence case.
Disciplinary hearings for judges to stay private in revamped system
The disciplinary regime for judges is set to become quicker and clearer but – unlike for solicitors and barristers – hearings will remain behind closed doors, under plans published yesterday.
Racial discrimination on Northern Circuit “legitimised by silence”
More than half of ethnic minority barristers on the Northern Circuit have experienced racial discrimination at the Bar, legitimised by the “silence and inaction” of others, research has found.
Clients’ desperation grows as impact of Simplify cyber-attack stretches on
Desperate consumers are looking at the feasibility of changing their lawyer as the impact of the cyber-attack on Simplify, the conveyancing giant, stretches into a second week.
Solicitor who used client account like a “piggy bank” is struck off
A solicitor who plundered her client account to meet her personal financial obligations and her ex-partner’s car debts has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
“Profound conflicts of interest”: US lawyers push back at ABS moves
Florida is set to be the next flashpoint over allowing alternative business structures in the US after lawyers in the state voted unanimously against moves to allow non-lawyer ownership.
Conveyancing giant told to improve communication after cyber-attack
The country’s largest conveyancing group has been told by its regulator to improve communication with clients in the wake of a paralysing cyber-attack this week.
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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