Practice Management
Dentons trials workflow app that “could remove” unconscious bias
A global law firm is trialling a workflow app developed by one of its associates, who says it could save City practices up to £6m a year by making work allocation more efficient.
Virus backlogs must not become “new normal”, says Lord Chief
The Lord Chief Justice told MPs yesterday that he is “extremely concerned” that the backlogs that have grown across the justice system since March should not be “viewed by anybody as the new normal”.
Leading firm signs up to solicitor’s ‘Fair Redundancy Pledge’
Law firm Shakespeare Martineau has become the first major business to sign up to a ‘Fair Redundancy Pledge’ to be transparent on their redundancy programmes for this year and beyond.
Insurer fails in aggregation argument over partner’s multi-million pound thefts
The High Court has refused to aggregate as one claim various actions a Yorkshire law firm’s indemnity insurer is facing because of a multi-million pound fraud run by one of its partners.
Prepare now for negative interest rates, law firms told
Law firms have been urged to change their retainers now so they can charge clients for holding their money, given the “possibility, if not likelihood” of negative interest rates.
Negligent conveyancers cannot dodge liability because of fraud
Negligent conveyancers should not be able to avoid liability because it emerges later that their client was engaged in mortgage fraud, the Supreme Court has ruled.
City sets out innovation blueprint amid fears over Covid impact
The Covid-19 pandemic risks the huge progress made in using technology to innovate in legal services and find new ways of working, according to a report from the City of London Corporation.
Leading PI firm declares: We’re ready for whiplash reforms
Minster Law has become the first major personal injury practice to state that it is ready for next year’s whiplash reforms by formally launching its self-service digital claims portal.
Lawyers “need outside help” to maximise lawtech start-ups
Lawtech start-ups set up solely by lawyers grow more slowly than those that with coders among the founders, research by Oxford University has found.
LSB approves new route to qualifying as a solicitor
The new way of qualifying as a solicitor, including passing a centralised, two-part examination, will go live from 1 September 2021 after the Legal Services Board approved the reforms.
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
