Practice Management
Coronavirus prompts SRA to rethink closure of SIF
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to look again at whether to close the Solicitors Indemnity Fund – which covers claims made after firms’ run-off cover expires – in September this year.
Partner drops discrimination claims against leading firm
A former partner at leading midlands law firm Shakespeare Martineau has dropped her claims of sex discrimination after they settled their dispute.
Anxiety among aspiring solicitors has “skyrocketed”
Anxiety among aspiring solicitors has “skyrocketed” due to the Covid-19 crisis, a survey has found, with 75% of trainees and paralegals expecting it to lead to “significant job losses at my level of seniority”.
Legal tech education “disjointed and ad hoc”
Legal technology education is focused too much on ‘hot topics’ like machine learning and blockchain, making it “disjointed and ad hoc” in character, a paper for the Legal Services Board has argued.
Law firm fails to strike out deceit allegations
The High Court has rejected an attempt by well-known Surrey law firm Stevens & Bolton to strike out allegations against it of dishonest assistance, deceit and unlawful means conspiracy.
Presence of shielding QC at in-person hearing “not essential”
The physical presence in a sensitive family case of leading counsel shielding from Covid-19 was desirable but “not essential”, a High Court judge has ruled in ordering an in-person hearing.
Covid-19 “exacerbating” inequality in profession
Women lawyers are worried that the coronavirus crisis is exacerbating inequalities in the profession, with the pandemic hitting them hard, a survey has found.
Burnett: “No going back” on remote court hearings
The Lord Chief Justice has said there will be “no going back” to pre-pandemic days for the courts in their use of technology, predicting a permanent change in the way lawyers operated.
Law firms invest $10m in collaboration platform
Three law firms based in the UK, USA and Singapore, have invested $10m in a collaboration platform launched this week. Lupl aims to be the world’s first “open industry platform for legal matters”.
Judge explains himself in writing after phone hearing fails
A High Court judge has been forced to issue a written ruling because his voice was “breaking up” at the end of a telephone hearing with a litigant in person and the law firm suing her for fees.
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.
