Practice Management
Firm fights off age discrimination claim over birthday wishes
A legal secretary who claimed she felt humiliated and insulted by a colleague commenting on her 50th birthday has lost her claim for harassment and age discrimination against the law firm.
Court reforms may not be completed in time, PAC warns
The government’s court modernisation programme may not be completed by the deadline of 2023, the House of Commons public accounts committee has warned.
Law firm EOT “gives staff security against sale”
Transferring the ownership of law firms to employee ownership trusts (EOTs) boosts staff loyalty by giving them more security if the firm is sold, the chief executive of the latest firm to create an EOT has said.
Lawtech sector given public funding boost
The Ministry of Justice has injected £2m into boosting the development of lawtech via a government-funded network that backs tech start-ups.
Big firms talk up benefits of legal apprenticeships
Apprenticeships offer significant benefits to both young people and their employers, allowing law firms to plan their staffing several years in advance, a conference heard last week.
MPs sound access to justice alarm over court reform
Enhancing access to justice appears to be ancillary to the court modernisation programme rather than its central goal, MPs warned yesterday.
EU pumps £4m into Welsh legaltech innovation lab
The EU is pumping in £4m to fund an innovation lab at a south Wales law school which will carry out research into artificial intelligence and other legal tech innovations.
Government funds study of people behind legaltech
Oxford University has been awarded a government grant of £213,000 to research the people rather than the technology behind the legaltech boom.
Hallett urges profession to act on unconscious bias
The profession needs to keep working to address unconscious bias, as “we have not yet reached the stage where a successful woman is accepted as the norm”, Dame Heather Hallett said last week.
Barrister fails in discrimination claims against chambers
An employment tribunal has rejected all the claims of discrimination, victimisation and whistleblowing made by a barrister who also acted as the chambers manager.
Blog
Is your Google Ads budget funding your competitors’ AI visibility?
If your cost-per-click has crept up again this year, you’ve probably assumed the market simply got more expensive. That’s the wrong way to read what’s happening.
Containing the spread of unapproved AI
Nearly 60% of fee-earners admit to using unapproved tools (like free versions of ChatGPT). Yet 68% of firm leaders are confident there is zero risk of unapproved AI being used for client work.
When AI adoption goes wrong, costs add up fast
City AM recently reported that London is fighting to claim the title of ‘global capital of legal AI’. However, it’s crucial we remember that adoption alone does not create value.
