Practice Management
Online law school bursts onto scene for SQE
An online-only law school entered the market yesterday to deliver the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination, with heavyweight backing from leading academics and lawyers.
Pre-92 universities lead way with BPTC pass-rates
The pre-1992 universities achieve the best results in the centralised exams taken by students on the Bar Professional Training Course, it has emerged.
Algorithmic-based decision-making is “risk to justice”
The head of the Criminal Bar Association has outlined her “grave concerns” about algorithmic technology that is being used in the justice system without adequate regulation.
Hale: Half of judges will be women by 2033
Half of the judges in England and Wales will be women in fewer than 14 years, Lady Hale predicted this weekend, suggesting that Lord Sumption was wrong to says gender parity would take 50 years.
Law firm co-founder was not an employee, tribunal rules
One of the barrister founders of a pioneering legal aid firm in the North-East was not an employee or worker and so cannot bring unfair dismissal and other claims, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Supreme Court backs miner’s claim against solicitors
A miner who lost the chance of compensation due to the negligence of his solicitors is entitled to damages because later evidence indicating that he was not eligible was irrelevant, the Supreme Court has ruled.
Digital assets “are property” under English law
Blockchain and smart contracts were given a major boost yesterday, when the expert panel charged with giving the technology legal certainty declared they should be treated in principal as property.
Supreme Court judge calls for independent algorithm regulator
A Supreme Court justice has called for the creation of an expert commission to act as “a sort of independent regulator” of algorithms, staffed by coding technicians, with lawyers and ethicists.
Boxer’s banker fails in negligence claim against lawyers
A solicitor, his law firm and the barrister they instructed have been granted summary judgment on a negligence claim brought against them by a banker fired for his work with boxer David Haye.
Top judge tells business lawyers: Get ready for the future
The Chancellor of the High Court has urged commercial lawyers to prepare for the disruptive impact of technology on the law, the legal system and legal profession before others “steal a march” on them.
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.
