Market monitor
Survey: recruitment fears head mid-sized firms’ concerns
Recruiting and retaining talent is the top priority among mid-sized law firms, ahead of efficiency and financial performance, according to a benchmark survey of preoccupations as they devise strategy.
Listed pioneer records strong growth with turnover and profits up
Gateley – the first listed law firm – is expected to announce an 18% rise in turnover in its annual results, with profits up 10%, it told shareholders today. However, its share price dipped on the news.
UN highlights role of legal aid cuts in “immiseration” of millions
The decimation of legal aid has contributed to “the systematic immiseration of millions across Great Britain”, the UN’s expert on poverty and human rights said yesterday.
Knights shares on the rise as trading update signals strong growth
Shares in Knights rose yesterday on the back of a strong trading update, with their price now doubled since the national law firm floated last June. Revenue for the financial year is expected to be up 50%.
Medical agencies need formal regulation, says MedCo
Evidence of misrepresentation, dishonesty and fraud by medical agencies supplying solicitors with expert reports means the government should consider formally regulating them, MedCo has argued.
“We do not dictate PI policy to ministers,” MIB boss insists
The head of the body building the new whiplash portal has insisted that the organisation “does not dictate policy to ministers”. He also revealed that the cost of setting up the portal would be £15m.
PE investor in failed law firm set to lose £22.5m
The private equity backer of failed personal injury firm Roberts Jackson is set to lose its entire £22.5m investment, while unsecured creditors will only receive pennies in the pound.
DWF partners donate £2m in shares to charitable foundation
The partners of listed law firm DWF have donated 1.8m shares, currently worth £2.1m, to its charitable foundation. The award will enable the DWF Foundation to expand and sustain its grant-giving.
Court modernisation has yet to deliver – and might never, warn DJs
Judges on the frontline of the court modernisation programme has expressed “serious concerns” that the £1bn committed to the reforms will run out before they can be completed.
Lawyer-matching service aims to harness “economic power” of GCs
A former general counsel and City partner has launched an online service that aims to simplify and speed up the way in-house lawyers instruct external law firms.
Blog
The trade-off mid-sized firm partners think they’re making
Most of the partners I talk to describe the same tension. They want the firm to run efficiently and hit its numbers, but they also want their people to feel supported, developed and fairly treated.
Communication as the core of client care in conveyancing
How a conveyancer approaches client care – particularly in relation to communication – can be the greatest differentiator for the success of a conveyancing firm.
Why brilliant lawyers sometimes fail
A question that often strikes a chord with partners in law firms is this: why is it that individuals who excel in one role sometimes struggle when promoted into another?
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