Practice Management

Law firms need to be held accountable over efforts to improve the profession’s equality, diversity and inclusion, the chief executive of the SRA said yesterday.

Law firms are struggling to understand the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s workplace environment rules introduced earlier this year, a leading regulatory solicitor has warned.

There has been a surge in legal businesses becoming B Corporations, the movement which aims to balance profit with purpose, with Obelisk Support and the London Law Collective the most recent.

Many SME law firms feel optimistic about their financial performance this year even though staffing costs are set to rise quicker than fee rates, according to new research.

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.

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.

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.

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 has struck a £33m funding deal with litigation funder Harbour to help build its personal injury and clinical negligence practices.

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.