Practice Management
Land Registry successfully transfers house using blockchain
A trial of blockchain involving digital transfer of property ownership has been completed by the Land Registry, but the agency has no plans to adopt the emerging technology itself any time soon.
Female lawyers speak out over pregnancy discrimination
The personal experience of chartered legal executives shows that more needs to be done to stop pregnant women and new mothers being “punished” by employers, their representative body has argued.
Solicitor’s discrimination claim to continue despite Twitter campaign
A US firm has failed to strike out a discrimination claim brought by a former corporate lawyer in its London office, after a tribunal found her not responsible for a friend’s Twitter campaign against it.
Insurers “not interested in backing freelance solicitors”
An expert in law firm regulation has said he does not know a single insurer interested in providing indemnity insurance to freelance solicitors, a concern echoed by the Law Society.
Ethical impacts from AI “unimaginable”, says EU think tank
Artificial intelligence software poses risks to society including tracking and identifying individuals, ‘scoring’ people without their knowledge, and powering lethal autonomous weapons systems.
Law firm insolvencies hit new high amid ‘loan stacking’ warning
The number of insolvencies among solicitors’ firms reached a new high last year, Insolvency Service figures have shown, and a funder has warned that ‘loan stacking’ will only make things worse.
Susskind hits back at online court critics
The courts offer a “Rolls Royce system for the very few, while everyone else is left to walk”, Professor Richard Susskind has said in advocating for online courts.
Judges, police and lawyers warn MPs over court modernisation
Judges, justice campaigners, academics and others have raised wide-ranging concerns about the government’s ambitious court reform programme in evidence submitted to MPs.
Divorce to be wholly online “within months”
Every family law practitioner will have felt the effects of court modernisation in their daily practice within a year, with the remaining parts of the divorce process moving online within months.
Victim of senior partner’s f-word tirades awarded £47,000
A paralegal subjected to f-word tirades by the boss of a London law firm has been awarded £47,000 by an employment tribunal. But it said proven acts of harassment did not cause her mental breakdown.
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.
