Practice points

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to launch a review of its approach to solicitors’ continuing competence, amid calls for spot checks or accreditation schemes to reassure consumers.

The demands of working under Covid-19 has led to an accelerated culture change at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, with lawyers much more willing to adopt tech solutions rapidly.

Online will-writer Farewill has raised £20m as it targets a major expansion in revenue, staff numbers and new services, including powers of attorney.

The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling that a negligence claim brought by a woman against her law firm over its work on her divorce was out of time.

The High Court has upheld a decision refusing two ‘core participants’ in the infected blood public inquiry the right to nominate their own solicitors.

An online service that helps divorcing couples draft their own documents and not use lawyers has received a new round of funding to increase the number of people it can help.

A group of 17 City law firms, including seven of the top 10, have signed a ‘race fairness commitment’ to improve recruitment and retention of black, Asian and minority ethnic lawyers.

A global law firm has predicted that as many as 80% of its workforce will remain transient or permanently working from home after Covid-19, with only around a fifth being full-time office workers.

Automation in the legal profession will most probably be “a decades-long process” but artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining what it means to be a ‘great’ lawyer.

The average barrister only makes one notification of a possible professional negligence claim every 20 years, figures from the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund have revealed.