Practice Management
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.
Negligence claim over football club chairman’s divorce to proceed
A judge was wrong to stop a case against a law firm that had incorporated since potentially negligent advice was given when the wrong entity was named in the claim, the High Court has ruled.
Blockchain trial “has potential to transform property market”
The use of blockchain software in the end-to-end conveyancing process came a step closer when a worldwide trial involving leading law firms and banks cut transactions from months to weeks.
New video hearings pilot will test “more robust software”
Video hearings are set to be piloted for a second time in the tax tribunal, this time using “robust” technology after criticisms of its reliability last year, the Senior President of Tribunals has revealed.
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.
