Latest news
Third-party managed account first for licensed conveyancers
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has issued its first approval for a law firm to use a third-party managed account for its client funds.
Major City law firm apologies for Church abuse data breach
City law firm Kennedys has apologised unreservedly after accidentally disclosing the email addresses of people registered to receive updates on the Church of England redress scheme.
Rise of law firm consolidators “will not lead to bidding wars”
The growing number of consolidators in the legal market does not mean there will be a bidding war for attractive law firm targets, the newest player in the field has said.
Solicitor paid £77,000 in fees into his own bank account
A solicitor who admitted paying almost £77,000 in fees into his personal bank account from over 100 clients has been struck off.
Only one in five chambers signed up to Cyber Essentials
Just 19% of barristers’ chambers currently meet the Bar Council and Law Society’s joint recommendation to achieve Cyber Essentials certification, new research has found.
Lawyer “under new duty” to have functional understanding of AI
Lawyers have a new duty to have a “competent functional understanding” of artificial intelligence as its use spreads across the profession, a specialist has argued.
PE-backed firm eyes ‘hub and spoke’ consolidation strategy
The private equity house that acquired Midlands firm Higgs last week is to adopt a different approach to its competitors in pursuing a ‘buy and build’ strategy.
Associate who billed 23 hours in a day struck off
A senior associate at national firm Irwin Mitchell who recorded 23 hours of chargeable time in one day has been struck off for submitting dishonest timesheets.
Court of Appeal ruling gives renewed hope for data breach claims
The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision that appeared to limit the rights of data breach victims to bring claims.
Will writer’s failures help convince judge to find undue influence
Failures by a will-writing company were among circumstantial evidence that led a High Court master to decide a will was made under undue influence.
Blog
Modern search is about ‘knowledge’ retrieval
Search has long been understood as data retrieval – the ability to call back information and check a box on finding something. Legal professionals today need more of a 360-degree view on a matter.
Lessons from Sir Keir Starmer for SRA chief
The proposed 29%, or £25m, increase in the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s budget announced last week should really come as no great surprise.
The hidden risks in client account reconciliations
The client account reconciliation process will be second nature to most people in legal finance – and so is also a potential area for a problem to be undetected until it becomes serious.
