Practice Management

Leading litigation firm Stewarts Law is “sufficiently well-funded” to cope with £2m intended to pay its fees and disbursements sitting frozen in its client account, while the true owner of the money is identified, the High Court has ruled.

The partnership behind an pioneering online dispute resolution platform for divorce is to be disbanded for commercial reasons, and the venture will be replaced by a scaled-down project that will for the first time involve face-to-face contact with lawyers.

There have been some significant thefts from client accounts in recent months, with one in four SME law firms having suffered a cyber-attack or fraud related loss in the last year, according to new research. The poll of 269 firms also showed that income and profit continues to rise, although cash remains an issue.

A record number of start-ups targeting the legal market received funding around the world last year, new research has found. It comes as City giant Allen & Overy is to nurture legal tech start-ups with the creation of an incubator.

The pioneering digital tribunal thought to be the model for England and Wales’s online court will begin resolving small claims disputes worth under about £3,000 on 1 June, it has emerged. British Columbia’s civil resolution tribunal claims to be “the first online tribunal in the world that is integrated into the public justice system”.

There is a risk that the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s plans for education reform will do little to disrupt the privilege of students with access to funding and other advantages, according to an independent report commissioned by the regulator.

Leading conveyancing firm Convey Law has launched what is said to be the first fully automated chatbot that can engage with potential clients, provide instant conveyancing quotes, and then arrange a follow-up conversation with a member of its team.

The Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that a law firm which had been negligent in drawing up a loan facility agreement was not legally responsible for their client’s decision to actually make the loan. The decision has been branded as good news for solicitors, who “no longer appear to be expected to underwrite claimants’ risks and business ventures”.

The Supreme Court has sided with a leading professional indemnity insurer in interpreting the rules that govern the way insurers can aggregate multiple claims against solicitors. Overturning the Court of Appeal, it was ruling in claims by investors against a law firm arising from failed property developments in Turkey and Morocco.

City law firm Kennedys has launched an extended version of its virtual defence lawyer, which for the first time enables clients to send cases directly to counsel without the need for a solicitor. The firm is currently building a more advanced version of litigation management system KLAiM using AI.