Practice Management
LSB set to beef up rules on how lawyers handle complaints
Lawyers are facing beefed-up rules on dealing with complaints, and the prospect of how quickly they handle them being made public, under proposals published yesterday.
Fewer lawyers on active search for new jobs, survey suggests
The proportion of lawyers actively seeking a new job fell for the third consecutive year to 10%, according to new research, although 45% described themselves as ‘passive’ jobseekers.
Integration and cash flow problems brought down law firm consolidator
The administrators’ report into the collapse in June of the Law Direct group has highlighted how hard it is to build a law firm consolidator, as problems with integration led to cash flow difficulties.
Axiom Ince stops taking new instructions as break-up looms
The end appears nigh for Axiom Ince, with the law firm admitting that it has stopped taking new instructions and will “likely be unable to continue in its current format”.
Slater & Gordon secures £33m working capital facility
Slater & Gordon has struck a £33m funding deal with litigation funder Harbour to help build its personal injury and clinical negligence practices.
Workplace culture, not personal issues, “making women leave”
Workplace culture is the main reason that professional women leave their jobs and not personal issues such as the menopause or caring responsibilities, a study has concluded.
ICO reprimands law firm over data breach that saw money stolen
The Information Commissioner’s Office has reprimanded a law firm after a cyber-attack led to a data breach and four fraudulent payments being made on a probate matter.
Junior lawyers find it harder to concentrate on virtual training
Junior lawyers “find it harder to concentrate” during virtual training sessions than their more senior colleagues, while partners felt they were not getting enough time with juniors.
Three-quarters of law firms experience drop in demand
Three-quarters of law firms have experienced a drop in demand for legal services over the past 12 months and the same proportion expect the decline to go on for another year.
Tribunal makes protective awards to staff of defunct Newcastle firm
The employment tribunal has issued protective awards in favour of 13 former employees of Newcastle firm Short Richardson & Forth for failing to consult over their redundancies.
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.
