Practice Management

Bonuses for managers could be made contingent on improvements in social mobility and the representation of minority ethnic people in law firms, it was suggested yesterday.

Positive action – such as giving female barristers preferential access to briefs after returning to chambers from career breaks – can help address diversity problems, the Bar Council says.

A host of mergers and acquisitions have been announced now that the 1 October deadline that most firms still stick to for their insurance renewal has passed, following a series unveiled last month.

Slater & Gordon’s ambition to become the country’s leading consumer law firm will mainly be fulfilled online as it looks to automate as much legal work as it can, its chief executive has explained.

The suspension of office working under lockdown has helped improve the mental and physical health of disabled lawyers, research has indicated.

Pioneering listed law firm Gateley expects to continue growing both organically and by acquisition as it emerges from the Covid-19 crisis, it told investors yesterday.

Female solicitors undergoing the menopause have expressed concern about the impact it can have on meeting their billing targets, with firms urged to do more to understand the symptoms and their effects.

Solicitors from lower socio-economic backgrounds take around 18 months longer to reach partner at major City law firms than those from higher ones, a major study has concluded.

Law firms’ high level of confidence about the future – despite Covid-19 and Brexit – is at odds with a lax approach to finances and could indicate “an industry in denial”, new research has warned.

Law firms worry that closing flagship offices in big cities as part of the shift to work from home will hit their market share and damage their local reputation, new research has found.