Practice Management
Law lecturers demand delay to SQE
Five associations representing law lecturers and academics have urged the Solicitors Regulation Authority to delay the introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam.
Four legal tech companies chosen for accelerator
Four legal businesses are among 30 chosen to join a flagship programme for mid-stage, fast-growing tech companies, with organisers saying it shows how the legal market is ripe for disruption.
Solicitor rejected for job was victim of age discrimination
An experienced property solicitor was rejected for a job at a law firm despite being the only person interviewed because of age discrimination, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Law firms failing miserably with client follow-ups
Law firms are making follow-up calls to only 9% of the people that contact them, a mystery shopper survey has found, with conveyancing teams performing better than private client and debt recovery.
Disabled lawyers “face daily discrimination”
Disabled lawyers face both overt and ‘unconscious’ discrimination on a daily basis, such as “rituals, practices and attitudes that exclude or undermine them”, according to research published today.
Chambers introduces mandatory “anti-oppression” training
A London chambers has made it compulsory for all members to attend “anti-oppression” sessions covering the range of protected characteristics.
LawCare callers complaining about bullying double
The lawyers’ welfare charity LawCare has reported an upsurge in the number of callers complaining about bullying, with reports almost doubling last year.
Firm’s web-surfing employee loses dismissal challenge
A long-serving staff member at a national law firm who rowed with a colleague and had an “unacceptable” level of personal internet use has lost an unfair dismissal challenge.
‘Emotional competency for lawyers’ course launched
Legal mental health and wellbeing charity LawCare has teamed up with the Open University to launch an online resource on emotional competency and professional resilience.
Court wellbeing protocol targets ‘last minute’ culture
Birmingham Family Court will today introduce a wellbeing protocol which aims to end a ‘last minute’ work culture that increases stress on practitioners outside of work hours.
Blog
From templates to culture change: Lessons from the SRA on source of funds
The SRA’s new thematic review into source of funds and wealth reveals both progress and persistent blind spots, with source-of-funds checks too often thought of as a procedural hurdle.
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.
