Practice Management
Get ready for impact of blockchain, lawyers told
Blockchain and associated distributed ledger technologies will storm the world of international commerce, boosted by the Covid-19 pandemic, new guidance for lawyers has predicted.
SME legal services platform goes global after City law firm invests
An online legal services platform for SMEs is offering its clients access to lawyers around the world following a “significant” investment from a City law firm, it has emerged.
Law Society’s “sympathy” with indemnity insurers’ frustrations
The Law Society has expressed sympathy with professional indemnity insurers over their call for the right to cancel policies when solicitors do not pay the premium or excess.
Female Australian lawyers face “high levels” of sexual harassment
The Australian state of Victoria has launched a review into sexual harassment in the legal profession following a “deeply disturbing” survey that found that a majority women had faced it.
Demand for fraud partners “to rise dramatically” after pandemic
Demand for partners who specialise in white collar crime will increase just as dramatically after the pandemic as it did after the financial crisis in 2008, a report has predicted.
Covid knock-on puts future pupillage numbers under pressure
The number of chambers delaying pupillages that were due to start this month or next is likely to have a knock-on effect on the supply of places until 2022, the Bar Standards Board said today.
AI contract review innovator raises $10m
AI contract review specialist ThoughtRiver has secured a $10m (£7.5m) investment from venture capitalists to expand its presence around the world, with extra spending in the US and South-East Asia.
Staff the main risk as firms report millions stolen by cybercriminals
Most incidents of cybercrime suffered by law firms are due to individual errors and misunderstanding rather than systems being hacked, research by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has found.
Wills firm justified in sacking employee who left client sweary message
A will-writing business was entitled to fire a member of staff who accidentally left a message on a potential client’s voicemail about getting drunk and littered with swear words, a tribunal has ruled.
PII underwriters warn solicitors after failing to change terms
Indemnity insurers have warned solicitors that they will suffer the consequences of their regulator maintaining that policies cannot be cancelled for non-payment of premiums or excesses.
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.
