Latest news
History as women become majority of solicitors – but still lag badly at partner level
Women have become the majority of practising solicitors for the first time, but men are still twice as likely to be partners, according to new figures.
SRA’s insurance reforms “piling too much risk on consumers”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s plans to reform professional indemnity insurance and the compensation fund put too much risk on consumers without any commensurate benefit, a watchdog has warned.
Law firms “complacent” about market changes, says bellwether report
Law firms are at risk of being overtaken by changes in the legal marketplace if they do not rethink how their businesses are run, according to a new survey.
Credit hire and legal services group set to raise £25m from listing
A group bringing together credit hire and legal services is to list on the stock exchange this week. Anexo Group has recently obtained an ABS licence.
AI “will help law firms make business decisions”, says Law Society report
Law firm managers and in-house counsel will increasingly rely on artificial intelligence for decisions on the best strategic course to take in the future, according to a Law Society study.
LSE and Oxford deliver highest earnings for law graduates, research reveals
Studying law at the London School of Economics and Oxford University are the best for men and women respectively in terms of their career earnings, ground-breaking new research has found.
MPs warned of court modernisation risks
Evidence provided to MPs by those involved in or observing the courts have outlined wide-ranging concerns about the government’s court modernisation programme.
DWF weighing up £600m listing on stock exchange
Top-25 practice DWF is considering whether to become by far the largest law firm to list on the London Stock Exchange, it emerged today. The move would galvanise interest in law firms going public.
Negligent solicitors face damages rehearing after Court of Appeal ruling
The Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that leading Welsh firm Hugh James did not have to pay a former client damages even though it had provided negligent advice. It is the latest in a long line of negligence cases to come out of the government’s miners’ compensation scheme.
ABS launches programme to retrain lawyers in commercial contracts work
Pioneering alternative business structure Riverview Law has launched a recruitment scheme for lawyers who want to retrain to handle commercial contract work. The first cohort of its ‘Legal Re-Train’ programme has taken in 10 solicitors from family law, personal injury, litigation, industrial disease and employment for a two-year training programme.
Blog
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.
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.
