Solicitors
City firm called in to advise on Legal Access Challenge
The innovation division of City law firm Ashurst has been appointed as technical adviser to the Legal Access Challenge, which aims to support and accelerate ideas to use technology to improve access to justice. The challenge is the centrepiece of… Read More
Motoring lawyer fails to overturn drink-driving fine
A solicitor specialising in motoring offences has failed to overturn a £15,000 fine imposed on her by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal following a second conviction for drink-driving.
SRA received 70 workplace harassment complaints last year
The Solicitors Regulation Authority received 70 complaints about harassment in the workplace last year, many of which were about law firm working environments, it revealed yesterday.
Cry freedom: New rules “strengthen regulators’ independence”
The Legal Services Board has finalised revised rules to ensure clearer separation of regulatory and representative functions at bodies like the Law Society and Bar Council.
High Court rejects solicitor’s appeal against £15,000 fine
The High Court has rejected an appeal by a solicitor against a £15,000 fine for paying £900 from a client into his personal bank account, again testing the boundary between dishonesty and a lack of integrity.
Report calls for better regulation of criminal defence work
An “effective system” is needed for monitoring the quality of criminal defence lawyers, a report has argued, identifying the way “perverse financial incentives” bear on the provision of services.
Government to legislate for legal advice on NDAs
The government has pledged to change the law to ensure that employees signing non-disclosure agreements receive independent legal advice, and work with the SRA on updated guidance.
Cost of practising as a solicitor should fall, SRA board decides
Individual practising fee levels for 2019/20 should remain at the same level as the current year, with Compensation Fund contributions falling, the board of the SRA has decided.
Partner fined for paying £1.5m to widow in probate dispute
The former head of private client at London firm Kingsley Napley has been fined £15,000 for transferring over £1.5m from the estate of a wealthy foreign national to his widow when he should not have.
Clients “more likely to sue law firms than freelance solicitors”
Disgruntled clients are more likely to target law firms with “deep pockets” for negligence claims than underinsured freelance solicitors, an expert in law firm regulation has warned.
Blog
The AI question law firms should answer before a client asks it
Most law firms we speak to are already using AI, whether or not they have approved it, because fee-earners are doing it anyway. The tool people settle on is often Claude.
From chat to Cowork: preparing your law firm for agentic AI
AI is evolving quickly. For law firms still working out how to get consistent value from the tools they already have, the conversation has moved on again to agentic AI.
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.
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