Practice Management
Axing apprenticeship funding “a disaster for the legal profession”
Scrapping government funding for Level 7 apprenticeships would be “a disaster for the legal profession and have a highly negative impact on social mobility and diversity”.
City law firm puts focus on helping clients use AI
A City law firm is putting a focus on “helping clients understand the potential” of AI, with a new tool which acts as a “custom-built AI layer” for them.
Law firms switch indemnity insurers in “more plentiful” market
The proportion of law firms switching insurer for lower premiums at last year’s October renewal rose significantly with capacity “much more plentiful”, with good signs for this year too.
Law firm sustainability leaders “do not have knowledge they need”
Only 38% of law firm ‘sustainability champions’ – individuals chosen by firms to lead green initiatives – have the knowledge they need to fulfil their roles effectively.
ESG moving up agenda as mid-sized law firms seek growth
Mid-sized law firms are focused on growth but recruitment troubles risk holding back their plans, according to new research who showed they were taking ESG more seriously too.
More than third of clients do not instruct same firm for new work
Fewer than two-thirds of consumers who needed legal services more than once used the same firm, according to new research.
“Rapid uptake” of AI by in-house lawyers to manage litigation
There has been a “rapid uptake” of AI by in-house legal teams in the past year, with four out of 10 adopting it for the first time to manage litigation.
Share payout for staff as national firm takes private equity cash
National insurance and commercial law firm HF has become the latest to take private equity investment, with all staff to receive payouts due its existing share scheme.
Smaller law firms should “compromise profits today” to invest in tech
The only thing that makes it hard for smaller law firms to invest in legal tech is “compromising profits today for growth tomorrow”, the founder of a fast-expanding commercial law firm has said.
Law firm’s AI agent supporting junior paralegals
A venture capital-backed law firm’s AI agent is handling both legal and non-legal work for its lawyers, its founder has said – like creating files, drawing up ‘to do’ lists and drafting emails,
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
