Practice Management

Students from white backgrounds are almost twice as likely as those from black backgrounds to pass the legal practice course (LPC), new figures have revealed. They also revealed a massive performance gap between LPC institutions, with one provider achieving a pass rate of 100%, compared to 30% for the worst performer.

The leading unregulated provider of employment law services unfairly dismissed a senior employee, an employment tribunal has found. Peninsula, which describes itself as the UK’s “largest and leading” employment law firm, breached the employer’s implied duty of trust and confidence in imposing new terms and conditions.

Lawyers have experienced a worrying level of bullying and intimidation, according to a massive international study, while diversity policies have failed to help women achieve equality in legal practice. It also found significant discrimination existed against women in the well-paid commercial law field, slowing their advancement.

The Land Registry is to publish how many incomplete applications it receives from the top 500 conveyancing firms as part of its commitment to opening up its data. It sends out 5,000 requisitions every day to conveyancers for further information or action before their applications can be completed.

The Court of Appeal has rejected the arguments of a convicted VAT fraudster that her former solicitors pressured her to drop an appeal that included a claim that they represented her badly and helped land her in jail.

The Link App, the communications application for law firms and their clients created by former The Apprentice candidate Lauren Riley, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £300,000 as it continues to establish itself. Sir Nigel Knowles has taken over as chairman of the company.

The High Court has struck out a negligence claim brought against a barrister peer for breaching an extended civil restraint order – only to then permit the claimant to issue a further claim form. Max Couper is seeking to sue both Lord Thomas of Gresford – the Liberal Democrats’ shadow attorney general – and Irwin Mitchell.

City law firm Clyde & Co has teamed up with computing students to undertake data analysis for clients, including predictions of the likelihood of disputes going to trial and potential litigation outcomes. Meanwhile, Bristol-based TLT has taken a share of a US artificial intelligence contracts review software supplier.

A firm of solicitors should have warned a client of the significant risk that a tax avoidance scheme would not withstand a challenge from HM Revenue & Customs, the Court of Appeal has ruled. The client ended up having to pay £11.3m to settle with HMRC and issued proceedings against his solicitors the same month.

Graduates from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds are half as likely to obtain pupillages as their white peers, research for the Bar Standards Board has found. A second report found that the Bar was still viewed as “an elite, white, male-dominated profession with long-established traditions”.