Practice Management
Osborne’s tax changes take gloss off benefits of incorporating law firms
The tax benefits for law firms of incorporating have been reduced thanks to surprise changes announced by the Chancellor in this week’s Autumn Statement. Law firms have been incorporating in large numbers, with tax advantages in both the initial transition and the ongoing practice.
Big legal brands unveil new marketing campaigns
Forget the John Lewis Christmas advert – lawyers have stepped up efforts to target the over-50s and the victims of medical accidents in the latest high-profile marketing pushes by QualitySolicitors and First4Lawyers respectively.
BSB anticipating hundreds of barrister businesses after receiving entity regulation green light
The Bar Standards Board has doubled its prediction of how many entities it expects to be overseeing by the end of 2015 after receiving Legal Services Board approval to regulate businesses.
Phone scams hit solicitors, with four firms losing £2m
Four law firms have recently lost £2m from their client accounts after falling victim to scammers who tricked them into disclosing bank security information over the telephone, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned.
Investors target legal entrepreneur after stint on The Apprentice
Solicitor entrepreneur Lauren Riley has described how she has met venture capitalists and tech companies interested in her legal app after appearing in the BBC1 show The Apprentice.
Client or customer? We need a new label, says Mayson
Client, consumer or customer – no single label can describe the relationship that now exists between people and their legal services providers, Professor Stephen Mayson has argued – having previously thought that it was a distinction without a difference.
Report: artificial intelligence will cause “structural collapse” of law firms by 2030
Robots and artificial intelligence will dominate legal practice within 15 years, perhaps leading to the “structural collapse” of law firms, a report predicting the shape of the legal market has envisaged.
Hodge Jones & Allen wins second apology from The Times
London law firm Hodge Jones & Allen has this week received an apology and “substantial” damages from The Times newspaper over a front-page article which claimed the firm was being sued by a former client for negligence in relation to a MMR vaccine claim.
SRA to end Law Society’s ‘Find a Solicitor’ monopoly
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to end the monopoly currently enjoyed by the Law Society’s ‘Find a Solicitor’ website, by making the data behind it available to commercial comparison sites. It is also to set up own “online regulatory register” for the public.
Knowledge gap between lawyers and consumers “narrowing all the time”
The “traditionally wide” knowledge gap between lawyers and consumers is “narrowing all the time”, Canadian futurologist Jordan Furlong told delegates at this week’s Legal Futures Annual Conference.
Blog
Our vision for 2026: A shared approach to AML
We want to see law firms start taking AML compliance as seriously as it deserves. This means treating it not as a tick-box exercise or a procedural necessity, but as a serious part of company culture.
Why later-life divorce requires a distinct professional framework
Later-life divorce, often described as ‘silver splitter’ or ‘grey divorce’ cases, is no longer a marginal feature of family law practice. It challenges long-standing assumptions about how divorce work is done.
Listening, learning and leading The Solicitor’s Charity with care
As I prepare to hand over the mantle of chair of The Solicitor’s Charity next month, it doesn’t feel like an end. Instead, it feels like a wonderful journey.
