Practice Management

Three leading law firms being sued for unlawful means conspiracy have been awarded a multi-million pound security for costs order.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s plans to reform professional indemnity insurance and the compensation fund put too much risk on consumers without any commensurate benefit, a watchdog has warned.

Law firm managers and in-house counsel will increasingly rely on artificial intelligence for decisions on the best strategic course to take in the future, according to a Law Society study.

Studying law at the London School of Economics and Oxford University are the best for men and women respectively in terms of their career earnings, ground-breaking new research has found.

Evidence provided to MPs by those involved in or observing the courts have outlined wide-ranging concerns about the government’s court modernisation programme.

The Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that leading Welsh firm Hugh James did not have to pay a former client damages even though it had provided negligent advice. It is the latest in a long line of negligence cases to come out of the government’s miners’ compensation scheme.

Pioneering alternative business structure Riverview Law has launched a recruitment scheme for lawyers who want to retrain to handle commercial contract work. The first cohort of its ‘Legal Re-Train’ programme has taken in 10 solicitors from family law, personal injury, litigation, industrial disease and employment for a two-year training programme.

Ethical, moral and legal risks from the growing use of algorithms are under the spotlight as the Law Society launches a public policy commission today on the impact of new technology on the justice system. One of the commissioners, said she was particularly concerned by the use of algorithms in the sensitive areas of divorce and employment law.

Insolvencies in the legal sector are set to double this year if trends seen in the first quarter of 2018 continue, indicating a possible downturn in the fortunes of law firms, it has been claimed. The figures also indicate that law firms may be waiting too long before seeking help.

The Law Society has launched a fierce attack on the second attempt by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to reduce the indemnity insurance and compensation fund requirements for solicitors. The society opposed all the main proposals, including a new £500,000 minimum limit for compulsory indemnity cover.