Latest news
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.
Neuberger and Grieve join legal regulation review
The former president of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger, and former Attorney General Dominic Grieve are on the advisory panel for an independent review of legal regulation.
Blog
The SRA’s strict liability gamble has failed. Good
The Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Dentons v SRA on 27 April, and the profession is right to welcome it. It is the second time in short succession that the court has corrected the SRA.
How AI presents real opportunities for barristers
AI presents real opportunities to improve access to justice and to support barristers in day-to-day legal practice. But we all need to understand and mitigate the risks.
Not everything can be a competition issue – a new dawn for consumer redress
Last month, the Law Commission launched a new project to “consider the potential introduction of a consumer class actions regime” in England and Wales.
