Practice Management

The clock on a possible ban on referral fees from lawyers to estate agents has started running after new guidance on disclosure was published by National Trading Standards.

Allowing a City law firm and QC to rely on ‘without prejudice’ communications to defend allegations of professional negligence could “undermine the policy of encouraging parties to settle disputes”.

City giant Linklaters and US firm Orrick have joined Allen & Overy by investing in tech company Nivaura, a cloud-based service for the issue and administration of financial instruments.

The High Court has rejected an application by global giant Dentons to strike out a negligence claim made against it as a third party.

Criminal law barristers cannot go on without “sensible parameters” for sitting hours and overnight working and will take action if the judiciary does not, the head of their representative body said yesterday.

A trainee chartered legal executive has spoken about how she is due to become a partner in a law firm less than 12 months after finishing her law degree.

A former partner at City firm Watson Farley & Williams has lost his High Court challenge to an arbitrator’s ruling that he must repay almost $68,000 (£52,000) to the firm.

National firm Simpson Millar has set up a team within its professional negligence department to handle potential actions against solicitors who failed to warn leasehold clients of damaging clauses.

Sheffield Hallam University has set up a standalone law firm so it can offer a law degree that incorporates mandatory work experience into every year of the course.

It is time to impose quotas on law firms for the number of women at both equity partner and management level as “years of talking” about diversity have failed to drive sufficient change.