Practice Management
Law firms sign up to social mobility and Black interns initiatives
City law firms are partnering with the Social Mobility Pledge to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, with firms and chambers also signing up to the #10000BlackInterns programme.
Exclusive: 20 firms and seven websites sign up to online reviews trial
Twenty law firms and seven comparison and review websites have signed up to a regulator-run pilot that will test how they can best work together to improve the information available to consumers.
Time to consider regulating lawtech firms, report says
The time has come for the Ministry of Justice to consider whether lawtech companies, along with other unregulated legal services providers, should be regulated, ACSO has said.
Firm made unlawful deductions from consultant solicitor’s pay
A law firm was not entitled to make deductions from the pay of a consultant solicitor because it was unhappy with the quality of his work, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Law firm ordered to pay £1m for registration error
The High Court has ordered a defunct Manchester law firm which failed to register a restriction against a house at the Land Registry to pay over £985,000 in damages for negligence.
Solicitor’s warnings of overcharging “could be protected disclosures”
A solicitor who warned his law firm that it was overcharging a client is to have a second chance to argue that his role was terminated as a result of protected disclosures.
DLA fails in effort to stay €12m negligence claim
A High Court judge has refused international firm DLA Piper’s request to stay a €12m professional negligence claim brought against it by a Russian cruise ship company.
Tribunal reduces damages awarded against sweary senior partner
An employment tribunal ordered to reconsider the damages it awarded to a paralegal subjected to foul-mouthed tirades by the senior partner of a London law firm has reduced them by 20%.
Client sued over unpaid fees loses appeal against contempt sentence
A man sued by a Kent law firm for unpaid fees has lost his appeal against a suspended sentence handed out for contempt over his failure to comply with court orders.
Project races to tackle tech’s impact on fundamental legal rights
Law societies and Bar associations should draw up principles for software developers and the lawyers who use their products to guarantee access to justice, according to the head of a team of experts.
Blog
Containing the spread of unapproved AI
Nearly 60% of fee-earners admit to using unapproved tools (like free versions of ChatGPT). Yet 68% of firm leaders are confident there is zero risk of unapproved AI being used for client work.
When AI adoption goes wrong, costs add up fast
City AM recently reported that London is fighting to claim the title of ‘global capital of legal AI’. However, it’s crucial we remember that adoption alone does not create value.
Gen Z lawyers vs identity, sacrifice and success
This conversation began with my training principal, who admitted something many senior lawyers quietly feel: “I struggle to understand what motivates Gen Z lawyers.”
