Practice Management
Firm boss wrongly accused pregnant paralegal of benefit fraud
A pregnant paralegal wrongly accused of benefit fraud by a leading criminal law solicitor who sits on the Law Society council was the victim of pregnancy and maternity discrimination, a tribunal has ruled.
Rocket Lawyer chief: SQE will “transform access to justice”
Four times as many law graduates will be able to practise as solicitors after the solicitors qualifying examination comes in in 2021, a move that will be “transformative” for access to the law.
Gauke: no more court closures – for now
There will not be another round of court closures for the time being, but this may change as technology takes hold, justice secretary David Gauke said yesterday.
Legal Access Challenge “building innovation community”
The government-funded Legal Access Challenge has received more than 85 expressions of interests in applying for funding, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said yesterday.
LSB report: Buy-in vital for legal technology regulation
Achieving buy-in for technology regulation from everyone involved in lawtech – from developers to users – is crucial to it working well, according to an analysis looking at the lessons for legal regulators that can be drawn from the medical and financial sectors.
Tribunal rejects paralegal’s disability discrimination claim
An employment tribunal has comprehensively rejected a disability discrimination claim brought by a paralegal who worked for well-known personal injury firm Ralli.
Government ensures paper-based access to online courts
The Courts and Tribunals (Online Procedure) Bill had its first reading in the House of Commons yesterday after the government added further protection for those unable or unwilling to use online processes.
Law firms “doing more training” since end of hours-based CPD
Four in ten law firms are doing more professional training following the end of the hours-based approach, research by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has found.
BLM launches robot claims handler – but “it won’t replace humans”
A robot claims handler which can take “subjective decisions” about the reliability of witnesses will not replace its human colleagues, the law firm behind it has said.
VC fund targets lawtech with focus on big data
Venture capitalists have launched a fund aimed at lawtech start-ups, with an emphasis on businesses that hope to exploit big data for corporate decision making.
Blog
Listening, learning and leading The Solicitor’s Charity with care
As I prepare to hand over the mantle of chair of The Solicitor’s Charity next month, it doesn’t feel like an end. Instead, it feels like a wonderful journey.
Is competition in the legal sector stifling innovation?
As the legal sector’s competitive landscape continues to evolve, Nobel laureates remind us that innovation is not inevitable,and that competition may not always be an incentive to innovate.
What high-performing consumer claims firms get right
Recurring concerns about parts of the volume claims sector show that the gap between well-run firms and those struggling to manage volume effectively is widening.
