Family
AI “could help allocate work to conveyancers”
Artificial intelligence is being developed for “triage and work allocation” in law firms and particularly for conveyancing, a director of the SRA has said.
Regulators “must warn lawyers against taking advantage of LiPs”
Legal regulators must warn lawyers that they will face action to stop them unethically taking advantage of vulnerable litigants, a charity has urged.
SRA to probe competence of family law and landlord and tenant solicitors
The SRA is to examine how family law and landlord and tenant law specialists maintain their competence amid increasing reports about their practices.
Litigation funder stymied as divorcing couple drop proceedings
Financial remedy proceedings to which the Court of Appeal said a litigation funder could be a party so as to protect the £1m it was owed by the wife have now been dropped with the money still owing.
Solicitor rebuked for leaving client unrepresented at hearing
A solicitor who withdrew from a Family Court hearing over a fee dispute so late that he left his client no chance to find a replacement has been rebuked by the SRA.
“No vision” on use of AI by family justice system
There is currently “not a vision” for how people in the family justice system, clients and professionals, can “safely harness” the benefits of artificial intelligence, research has argued.
Judge uses new power to “encourage” ADR in absence of agreement
The High Court has used new powers to “encourage” the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in family proceedings in the absence of agreement between the parties.
Charitable family law ABS encourages model for other practice areas
A not-for-profit family law alternative business structure is looking at other sectors where it could help vulnerable and under-represented people are not eligible for legal aid.
Online portal fault allowed couples to divorce too early
A fault in the digital divorce system allowed 67 members of the public to apply for their divorces earlier than they were allowed to by law, it emerged last week.
Family legal aid “loss-making for half of providers”
Family legal aid is loss-making for almost half of providers, research has found, with those handling private, rather than public, law matters struggling the most.
Value of family law market hits £2bn
The annual value of the family law market hit £2bn for the first time last year, as it rose by 4.5%, researchers have found, with ancillary services boosting the opportunities for firms.
Online employment law specialist targets divorce and conveyancing
The founder of an online employment law firm which specialises in settlement agreements has said he is planning to launch two similar ABSs – one for no-fault divorce and the other for conveyancing.
Leading law firm obtained order for client’s divorce “in error”
One of the country’s highest-profile family law firms obtained a final order of divorce for a client in error without her instructions or authority, it has emerged.
Solicitors launch self-help divorce tool
A new self-help divorce and separation tool, created by two solicitors formerly at City firm Withers, is aiming to help clients with no or limited budgets for legal advice.
Family judge tells divorcing couples to use ADR before going to court
A Family Court judge has told divorcing couples that the court expects them to make “a serious effort” to resolve their differences before issuing proceedings.
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
