Practice Management

The Covid-19 pandemic may reverse the trend towards consolidation in the SME legal market, with start-ups emerging as effective competition, according to the former boss of Cartwright King.

City giant Linklaters has introduced a new policy and package of support for employees who are living with domestic abuse, including paying for emergency hotel accommodation.

Lawyers must be able to report “mini-bullying moments” without fear that things will “go nuclear”, the global director of inclusion at Clifford Chance has said.

Solicitors are generally bullish about the future, despite nearly one in four believing Covid-19 will harm their clients’ prospects and many predicting lower demand for legal services.

Corporate law firm Aria Grace Law has pledged to give all of its profits to charity and other good causes forever as part of a commitment to “share the wealth between clients, lawyers and society”.

Law firms need to have the courage to employ diverse and even abrasive characters who help disrupt the legal sector and ensure it does not fall behind other industries.

For legal firms striving to stand out in a digital age, live chat helps to bring them closer to clients and respond to the changing way people shop and procure legal services.

The Covid-19 pandemic should “accentuate the pipeline of recruitment and acquisition opportunities” for fast-growing listed law firm Knights, it said today.

Hugely acquisitive IT company the Access Group has blown into the legal market by adding DPS Software to its purchase last month of Eclipse Legal Systems, with more deals to come.

Law firms “acted quickly, made sound business decisions, and put cash first” in their response to Covid-19 and are now “coming out fighting”, according to new research.