Legal Services Act
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.
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.
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.
Law firms will have to publish certain prices, but not complaints data, SRA decides
Law firms will have to publish their prices for a range of consumer and business services, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has decided, but they will not have to put their complaints records in the public domain. It comes alongside research showing consumers particularly wanted information on price and quality before choosing a lawyer.
Government makes some concessions on Civil Liability Bill but defeats bid to remove damages tariff
The government yesterday fought off efforts in the House of Lords led by former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf to remove the new compensation tariff that will govern whiplash injuries, although it has agreed that the Lord Chancellor should consult the Lord Chief Justice when setting it, in one of a series of relatively minor concessions.
Law firm insolvencies rising sharply, research finds
Insolvencies in the legal sector are set to double this year if trends seen in the first quarter of 2018 continue, indicating a possible downturn in the fortunes of law firms, it has been claimed. The figures also indicate that law firms may be waiting too long before seeking help.
CILEx Regulation clears major hurdle to licensing ABSs
The Legal Services Board has approved an application by CILEx Regulation to license alternative business structures, which will now go to the Lord Chancellor for a final decision. If successful, the regulator of chartered legal executives will become the sixth ABS licensing authority.
Let battle commence: Labour, Lib Dems and top judges bid to reduce impact of whiplash reforms
Opposition peers and leading legal figures will today try and curb the government’s whiplash reforms as the Civil Liability Bill enters its crucial report stage. Following last month’s committee stage, during which amendments probed the government’s thinking but were not pushed to a vote, this is the day when peers will make changes to the bill, if at all.
52:48 again – criminal barristers vote to accept government legal aid deal
The criminal Bar has narrowly voted to accept the government’s offer of £15m additional funding for the advocates’ graduated fee scheme, a result described as “neither a defeat nor a victory”. Some 1,566 (51.55%) barristers voted to accept and 1,472 (48.45%) voted to reject.
Blog
The AI question law firms should answer before a client asks it
Most law firms we speak to are already using AI, whether or not they have approved it, because fee-earners are doing it anyway. The tool people settle on is often Claude.
From chat to Cowork: preparing your law firm for agentic AI
AI is evolving quickly. For law firms still working out how to get consistent value from the tools they already have, the conversation has moved on again to agentic AI.
Why good governance matters when managing Law Society forms
Everyday legal transactions rely on Law Society forms. But they are often treated as static templates rather than what they really are: living documents that change over time.
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