Latest news
Solicitors’ firms starting to switch regulator
Solicitors’ firms are moving their whole practices or conveyancing departments to the oversight of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, it has emerged.
Call to protect compliance officers who report solicitors to SRA
There should be specific protection against victimisation for compliance officers who report their solicitors to their regulator, the Law Society has argued.
SRA wins £700k government grant to support firms using AI
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has won a £700,000 award from the government to accelerate the ideas of law firms and others to improve access to justice using AI.
Panel blasts ICAEW’s approach to probate prices
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has strongly criticised the “insufficient” plans of the second largest probate regulator to introduce new requirements on publishing prices.
Lawyers need to see benefits of innovation, says guru
If there is one thing a law firm can do to achieve buy-in from lawyers sceptical of the need for change, it is show clients saying they have rewarded an innovative approach, the author of a major book has said.
Top firms back IT platform hoping to set global standards
Three top City law firms have joined a high-powered international consortium to launch a platform that aims to set industry standards for the use of AI, smart contracts and other new tech.
From lawyer marketplace to global law firm?
An online lawyer-matching service for companies has secured £3.4m in funding, with an investor predicting that it could become “a virtual and distributed tech-driven global law firm”.
Tensions in Legal Services Act coming to fore, says review
The world when the Legal Services Act was drawn up “simply does not exist in the same way now” and the inherent tensions in the Act are becoming “increasingly apparent”.
Call for snap inspections of suspect immigration firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority needs to be more rigorous pursuing “bent” solicitors “taking advantage” of the immigration system, according to a former judge.
Solicitor “about as dishonest as it could get”
A solicitor whose conduct “was about as dishonest as it could get” – and left the profession to pick up a £175,000 bill to compensate a vulnerable client – has been struck off.
Blog
Why housing disrepair claims against councils have leapt by nearly 400%
Housing disrepair claims against councils have surged dramatically in recent years, with some areas reporting increases approaching a staggering 400%.
Client accounts: Opportunity, obligation and the risks in between
The profitability gap between well-run firms and the rest is not primarily a function of size, location or practice area – it is a function of financial management.
Motor finance – the FCA is more worried about banks than consumers
The Financial Conduct Authority’s motor finance redress scheme announced last week amounts to one of the largest ever consumer failures by the regulator.
