Practice Management

Almost all of the 21% increase in profits per partner seen by SME law firms last year came from client account interest and they need to “wean themselves off” it, a Law Society report has warned.

The private equity owned Fletchers Group made another acquisition yesterday, while a merger is set to create a 500-person firm operating in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.

Private equity has invested nearly £1.2bn into law firms over the last five years, with a record £534m coming last year, according to figures published today.

Two former partners of a law firm did not vary their 50/50 partnership after it was set up so that one would be in sole control, the High Court has ruled.

The cost of professional indemnity insurance for many law firms fell last year, and there are positive signs for renewal in 2025 too, a leading broker has declared.

Commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has played down a BBC report that it has blocked general access to several AI tools after it found a “significant increase in usage” by staff.

Two-thirds of legal LinkedIn users received harassing, negative or ‘troll’ messages or comments, with 35% receiving “sexual comments” on the platform.

Law firms need to start adapting to the concerns and motivations of ‘Gen Z’ as they begin to enter the workplace, an International Bar Association report has warned.

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”.

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.