Practice Management
Video hearings “will not supplant” face-to-face, says HMCTS
Video hearings will not supplant face-to-face hearings in the majority of cases before the courts, even after their use is expanded, the deputy director of HMCTS has predicted.
Client bid to stop £33,000 repayment to law firm fails
A client who received a mistaken payment of £177,000 from a law firm and only paid back £144,000 has failed to overturn a judgment in default.
Law firms face £6m negligence claim from property investors
Two law firms have been facing multiple claims worth nearly £6m from disgruntled investors who lost money on hotels and student accommodation that were never built.
Appeal court rejects firm’s £4.5m claim over “missing referrals”
A personal injury law firm has lost its appeal against a High Court ruling that dismissed its £4.5m claim over referrals from an insurer that did not materialise.
Predictive pioneers behind CaseCrunch go separate ways
Three Cambridge law graduates behind predictive analytics specialist CaseCrunch have gone their separate ways, it has emerged.
Start-up partners with law firm to predict judges’ rulings
Litigation outcome prediction has taken a further step into the mainstream with a partnership between a major law firm and start-up crunching data on old cases.
£3m backing for lawyer’s document automation business
A legal tech business spun out of a law firm run by a former City solicitor and his technologist brother has secured £3.1m in private equity investment.
Solicitors, surveyors and estate agents reach NI “understanding”
An agreement between solicitors, surveyors and estate agents in Northern Ireland to improve the conveyancing process could be a template for England and Wales.
Court of Appeal cuts QC’s £1m penalty for tax late payment
A QC fined more than £1m for the late payment of both income and inheritance tax over several years has had the sanction reduced by 80%.
MPs cast severe doubt on court modernisation
MPs on the public accounts committee said today that they have “little confidence” that the court modernisation programme can be delivered.
Blog
Why good governance matters when managing Law Society forms
Everyday legal transactions rely on Law Society forms. But they are often treated as static templates rather than what they really are: living documents that change over time.
A letter from the SRA? Your first reaction matters
An email from the SRA has a way of rearranging a working day. It arrives in the same inbox as everything else, often in the same measured tone, yet it carries a different weight.
Regulate sole practices on evidence, not turnover
For a sole practice, the SRA’s plan that I cannot hold a compliance role if my firm has more than £600,000 of turnover is not a measure of risk. It is a ceiling on growth.
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