Practice Management
Trade union firm faces trade union-organised strike
Leading trade union law firm Thompsons is facing a strike over pay – and pickets lines at its offices across the country – organised by a trade union. It blames the squeeze in PI for not meeting the demands.
Tribunal rejects claims from ‘partner’ who sued as employee
A former salaried partner, permitted by an employment tribunal earlier this year to sue her law firm as an employee, has lost all but one of her claims.
Women face “sticky floor, not glass ceiling” after children
Women lawyers returning to work after maternity leave face “not so much a glass ceiling as a sticky floor” and should recognise that a perfect work-life balance is impossible, a conference was told last week.
Legal advice privilege “survives” company’s dissolution
Legal advice privilege attaching to communications between a company and its lawyers survives the dissolution of the company, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
HMCTS “must collect user data” to ensure digital courts work
HM Courts & Tribunals Services must collect data on vulnerable users of online courts, on matters such as age, disability, race and sexual orientation, a report by the Legal Education Foundation has said.
New clients put trust factors “way ahead of price”
Reputation and trust remain more important to winning new business than price, despite the push for greater transparency, according to a massive client satisfaction survey.
Bad behaviour by male barristers “still abounds”
Inappropriate behaviour by male barristers in robing rooms and at Bar messes “still abounds”, with many women afraid to speak out, the Association of Women Barristers has said.
SRA could tell law firms to pay for trainees’ SQE skills tests
The SRA could ask law firms to pay for their own research and writing skills tests when hiring trainees, instead of testing them in stage 1 of the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam, it has emerged.
E-mail footer counted as signature for property contract
A solicitor’s automated email sign-off sufficed as a ‘signature’ for the purposes of a contract involving the disposition of an interest in land, the High Court has ruled.
AI legal tech “so powerful it will need regulation”
The use of cutting-edge technology such as AI has become so powerful that legal regulators will have to regulate the tech itself rather than the providers, according to a prominent academic.
Blog
The power of participation for trainees and apprentices
It’s important as a trainee or an apprentice to get involved in the life of your firm – even under the pressure of discovering how to navigate professional life and now the demands of the SQE.
Is it time to change how law firms view compliance?
Although COFAs often hold senior positions and play an essential role in a firm’s financial and regulatory integrity, the perception of the compliance function itself is still evolving.
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.
