Latest news
Prices and brands helping consumers differentiate firms
Consumers still find it difficult to differentiate one law firm from another, but publishing prices helps and awareness of legal brands is slowly rising, new research has found.
Co-op eyes partnerships after revenue and profit jump
Co-operative Legal Services is eyeing up partnerships to boost its probate and estate planning work after announcing a record year as an alternative business structure.
LSB questions Bar regulator’s decision-making
The Legal Services Board is launching a formal review of the Bar Standards Board’s leadership and decision-making in the wake of its controversial decision to stop funding the Legal Choices website.
Covid-19 could herald reform of reserved legal activities
Changes to the list of reserved activities that only authorised lawyers can do has been floated as one way the ways legal regulation could be flexed to help the profession recover from the Covid-19 crisis.
Legal project management “needs common standards”
Legal project management has received an unexpected boost from people working from home as a result of Covid-19 but law firms are keen on formal standards for it, according to a study.
Exclusive: US legal giant sells its ABS to consolidator
US legal services giant LegalZoom has sold the Yorkshire law firm it bought more than four years ago to consolidator Metamorph, Legal Futures can reveal.
Solicitor “dipped into” divorce client’s funds
A solicitor who “dipped into” a divorce client’s money, repeatedly lied about it and warned her not to complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority or Legal Ombudsman has been struck off.
SRA allows trainees to qualify before completing PSC
Trainee solicitors will be able to qualify without first completing the professional skills course because of the Covid-19 outbreak, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has decided.
EHRC warning on use of video hearings in criminal cases
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has called on the government to take action to reduce the risk of disabled people being wrongly convicted because of video hearings in criminal cases.
Young barristers spell out pandemic’s devastating financial toll
Young barristers are being especially badly hit by the coronavirus crisis and they are unlikely to get much help from the government’s self-employment income support scheme.
Blog
Accountability has to live within governance, not with one person
The assumption has long been that a COLP or COFA is personally exposed to the consequences of anti-money laundering breaches.
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.
