Practice Management

The managing director of a law firm involved in testing Veyo has described how the Law Society realised too late that it had “built something nobody wanted”. David Bridge said what was left of Veyo should be converted into a secure portal for conveyancers.

One in ten legal advice agencies warn that they are likely to close next year, a report for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has revealed. More than half had been forced to make major changes as a result of LASPO.

The first online dispute resolution (ODR) system for divorcing and separating couples in the UK is to be launched by Relate next spring. Relate has received no government funding for the project, and instead relied on a number of sources, including Google.

The Law Society “must be held to account” for the collapse of conveyancing portal Veyo, the founder of the Bold Legal Group has said. Rob Hailstone accused the society of “hiding the truth about its mismanagement”.

A law firm has become a minority investor in a legal tech company, in what is understood to be the first move of its kind. Taylor Vinters said it wanted to develop new technology through collaboration with other businesses,

A Canadian law firm which runs offices inside Walmart supermarkets is planning to almost double in size next year, it has emerged. Mark Morris, co-founder of Axess Law, said the firm could potentially expand into the USA and the UK.

Personal injury, commercial and family work will all fuel negligence claims against lawyers, insurance specialist BLM has warned in a white paper. It also predicted that a new source of claims could come from the “rapid pace of reform” in legal services, testing new systems and processes “to their limit”.

Riverview Law has unveiled the technology which will power a range of legal ‘virtual assistants’ it is preparing to launch next year. Riverview said ‘Kim’ was already being used outside the legal world.

The demise of the Law Society and Mastek’s online conveyancing portal Veyo gives the “green light” to rival system Free2Convey, the chair of the Legal Software Suppliers Association has said. Matt Lancaster said Free2Convey could now become the “central conveyancing portal”.

The Law Society and Indian technology giant Mastek have decided to scrap online conveyancing portal Veyo, at a cost to the profession which has so far been confirmed at more than £3m but is likely to be much higher. The society said it was “deeply sorry” that conveyancers who had “waited patiently” for the product would not be able to use it.