Practice Management
SQE will “move the bottleneck” from law schools to employers
The Solicitors Qualifying Exam will make it easier for people to qualify as solicitors but move the “bottleneck” to newly qualified roles, a leading academic and the training head of a major law firm have predicted.
Susskind: “Harder than expected” to reduce legal work to lawyer-free process
The extent to which legal work can be reduced purely to administration and process has been overstated and in fact “lawyers are needed for all legal jobs”, Professor Richard Susskind has acknowledged.
City lawyers “need help from their firms” to engage with technology
Lawyers have been reluctant to engage with technology partly because law firm partners haven’t given junior staff enough time to learn how it can help them, according to a government-backed report.
Signs of progress as courts support barrister’s childcare responsibilities
A barrister has spoken about her “really positive” recent experiences of courts accommodating “the practicalities and balancing acts being carried out by those with children”.
Structured data format a “great step forward” for digital contracts
The Master of the Rolls has hailed the launch of a universal structured data format for the creation of digital contracts as a “great step forward”.
Licensed conveyancers review insurance scheme as market hardens
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has announced a review of its professional indemnity insurance arrangements in light of a hardening market for cover.
Supreme Court lays out “new legal roadmap” for professional negligence
The Supreme Court has provided a “wholly new legal roadmap” for professional negligence after its ruling last week in two linked cases, the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association has said.
Office attendance limit “will avoid new type of presenteeism”
A global law firm’s post-pandemic plan to compulsorily limit office attendance will stop women working remotely suffering from present colleagues receiving better assignments.
Digital courts take next step forward with damages claims pilot
HM Courts & Tribunals Service has launched a pilot scheme that allows lawyers to manage and progress the initial stages of certain civil damages claims online.
Gateley criticised for not protecting client data
A law firm specialising in data breach litigation has criticised Gateley for not keeping client data safe in the wake of the cyber-attack it suffered earlier this week.
Blog
Your website is losing clients before they even pick up the phone
Your website visitor is likely already carrying stress before they arrive. If your site adds to it rather than relieves it, you have likely lost a prospective client.
The growing importance of higher limits in personal ATE
While the personal litigation market is undergoing a period of significant change as claims become more complex, much of the ATE insurance market has remained relatively static.
The profession can play a greater role in improving access to justice
In this, the third blog of my series, I focus on what lawyers in the UK can do to improve access to justice through greater professional stewardship.
Reports
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