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There is a massive demand for unbundled – or limited scope – legal services, not just in famiy law but in almost all areas of legal practice, according to a report into unbundling. Lawyers’ nervousness about possible professional negligence risks associated with unbundling meant a “structured framework within which to practice” was worthwhile to encourage their participation.

Machine learning could be used to explain even the most complicated and obscure wills in plain English, a software entrepreneur has predicted. He said another development over the coming years could be the use of chatbots to handle routine enquiries.

The Court of Appeal has criticised law firms which attract clients through adverts which suggest their previous solicitors may have undersettled personal injury claims. It also said there should be “a sensible limit” on what should be expected of a solicitor operating on a fixed fee in a “high volume, low cost commoditised scheme”.

A paralegal employed by a personal injury firm under an oral contract was entitled to a bonus payment worth almost £14,000, an employment tribunal has ruled. The judge said the firm could not unilaterally vary the contract that entitled the paralegal to up to 10% of profit costs above a target set at five times his gross salary.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority should reconsider the advice it gives to solicitors who enter into sexual relationships with clients, a tribunal has said as it fined one £8,500 for the conflict of interest such a relationship caused. He was twice told by the SRA’s ethics helpline that the only issue was whether he could provide independent and impartial advice.

The furore over ground rents that double periodically is likely to lead to a “swell” in negligence claims against conveyancers, who will be “first in the firing line”, a barrister has warned. He said these leases also often have other clauses which may be considered unreasonable and so pose a negligence risk.

A law student has become the latest entrepreneur to try and crack the problem of how to use online technology to improve the experience of consumers wanting to contact lawyers to solve their legal problems at a reasonable cost. Legista is a platform that will use artificially intelligent software to understand their matter and locate the right lawyer to deal with it.

National law firm Gateley has told investors that its decision to list on the London Stock Exchange will help it withstand potential economic uncertainty caused by Brexit. Its annual report also showed that finance director Neil Smith was the top earner among the senior management in the year to 30 April 2017.

A long-serving clerk at a Stockport law firm and her husband have been jailed after more than £300,000 was syphoned from the firm and spent on cars and a boat among other extravagances. Rachel Swettenham, 54, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Top UK law firms are ahead of their US counterparts in the use of artificial intelligence, an index of legal service delivery innovation has suggested. However, the creator of the Legal Services Innovation Index said it might just be that UK firms are “savvier about marketing this stuff to their clients”.