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Smaller law firms specialising in insolvency work will be hit with a double whammy as Brexit favours big firms that can keep debt recovery costs down, while an Online Court will make it easier for litigants in person to pursue claims, a report has predicted. But the overall picture for law firms handling insolvency work was bright, it said.

There is a “clear perception” among most family law clients that barristers are more expensive than solicitors and other legal services providers, major research commissioned by the Bar Standards Board has found. Only 13% of those surveyed used a barrister at all, and just 12% of these contacted the barrister directly.

London law firm Gordon Dadds is set to become a public company through a reverse takeover of AIM-listed Work Group that values the firm at nearly £19m, it announced this afternoon. Alongside the acquisition, Work Group – an investing company – intends to raise up to £20m via an accelerated bookbuild placing of up to 457m shares to institutional investors.

Slater & Gordon has settled the first of three shareholder class action it is facing for A$36.5m (£21.6m), which the claimants’ solicitor said represented just a small fraction of their losses but was a better than “the diabolical alternative which meant likely insolvency for Slater & Gordon”.

Listed law firm Gateley has announced strong results for its last financial year, with revenue up 16% to £78m and profit before tax jumping 19% to £13m, alongside increased equity participation among staff. Shareholders at the first listed alternative business structure are set to receive a final dividend of 4.4p.

A six-month private test of the government’s new online probate service started last month, it has emerged as it looks to digitise the 280,000 applications received each year. As part of the project, HM Courts & Tribunals Service is working to better understand solicitors’ needs to reduce the number of applications that have to be returned.

The government is to impose fixed recoverable costs for holiday sickness cases as war is breaking out over letters that a leading holiday operator is sending directly to claimants even if they already have solicitors. However, Jet2holidays has told Legal Futures that the letters have generated responses from holiday makers unaware that a claim had been made on their behalf.

A poll of almost 1,500 mortgage customers has highlighted familiar concerns about conveyancing – that it is slow, stressful and poor value for money. Conveyancers also came bottom when judged by how much they ‘made the deal happen’ compared to others in the process.

A hackathon has led to the creation by lawyers and technologies of a free mobile app aimed at helping the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy access support services and information. Legal Hackers Scotland, assisted by Glasgow tech firm Add Jam, put the app together in seven days following the hackathon.

A partner who left London law firm Winckworth Sherwood after harassing female colleagues at its Christmas party last year has been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. John Burnand, “whilst intoxicated, behaved in an inappropriate, physical manner towards several female members of the firm’s staff”.