Market monitor

Listed law firm Ince Group has had its brand valued at £17m, it announced yesterday as it unveiled turnover up 87% to £98.5m, reflecting the full impact of the acquisition of Ince & Co.

MPs have expressed concern that law firms, chambers and law centres may collapse because of the impact of Covid-19, and that lawyers from BAME and state-school backgrounds will be badly hit.

TV personalities Rachel Riley and Tracy-Ann Oberman have withdrawn their defamation claim against a London barrister who retweeted an article about them.

Solicitors are generally bullish about the future, despite nearly one in four believing Covid-19 will harm their clients’ prospects and many predicting lower demand for legal services.

An MP has urged select committees to investigate the role of law firms – and in particular Herbert Smith Freehills – in helping client companies accused of wrongdoing set up compensation schemes.

Some 55% barristers would consider leaving the Bar if the courts adopt extended operating hours and they could set back female barristers’ progress by 50 years, research has found.

Corporate law firm Aria Grace Law has pledged to give all of its profits to charity and other good causes forever as part of a commitment to “share the wealth between clients, lawyers and society”.

Hundreds of crime lawyers have issued public refusals to attend hearings in evenings or at weekends as new figures show that backlogs in courts and tribunals were growing even before the coronavirus.

A service offering direct access barristers to handle all the stages of a small claim – including whiplash cases from next year – for a fixed fee of £999 has gone live.

The Covid-19 pandemic should “accentuate the pipeline of recruitment and acquisition opportunities” for fast-growing listed law firm Knights, it said today.

The end of the coronavirus pandemic will be followed by a “massive increase” in demand for legal services, the president of the Law Society has predicted.

Criminal lawyers took their fight for government support direct to a justice minister yesterday, haranguing him mercilessly at an online meeting and complaining that barristers were operating on “fumes”.

Middlesbrough Town Hall, the Knights’ Chamber within the grounds of Peterborough Cathedral, and the Ministry of Justice’s HQ in London are among the venues of the first ‘Nightingale courts’.

Law firms “acted quickly, made sound business decisions, and put cash first” in their response to Covid-19 and are now “coming out fighting”, according to new research.

Covid-19 has taught in-house lawyers about the importance of being trusted advisers, using technology for low-risk work, and making data-driven decisions, according to a new report.