Market monitor

Law firms’ high level of confidence about the future – despite Covid-19 and Brexit – is at odds with a lax approach to finances and could indicate “an industry in denial”, new research has warned.

Some of the larger personal injury firms are set to merge while others will have to restructure, with the market set to reach a “watershed moment”, a report has predicted.

Frenkel Topping, best known for giving financial advice to seriously injured claimants with large awards, has approached the company that owns National Accident Helpline over a potential acquisition.

The jobs of more than 100 staff at Yorkshire firm Heptonstalls have been saved by a start-up personal injury practice that aims to expand as others leave the market due to next year’s whiplash reforms.

Revenue and profit have fallen sharply at NAHL plc – the owner of National Accident Helpline and ABS National Accident Law – after “the most challenging six months” in its history.

The SRA must work “even harder” through its Innovate programme to encourage technology that helps reduce digital exclusion, its new executive director for strategy and innovation said yesterday.

Law firms worry that closing flagship offices in big cities as part of the shift to work from home will hit their market share and damage their local reputation, new research has found.

More flexible working hours and a review of the eligibility criteria are part of the latest plan to improve diversity in the judiciary, especially in the senior ranks.

A senior private client lawyer has launched a strategic consultancy to advise wealthy individuals and families from around the world on succession, risk, governance and dispute resolution.

An online legal services platform for SMEs is offering its clients access to lawyers around the world following a “significant” investment from a City law firm, it has emerged.

Revenue from legal services at the Co-op was flat in the first six months of this year, but profits fell by a third, the group’s half-year results have revealed.

A law firm linked with 18 cases of Covid-19 was ordered to shut its office with immediate effect last week after being accused of showing “disregard” for the health of its staff.

Listed law firm Keystone Law saw its turnover rise 6.5% in the first half of its financial year despite new instructions shrinking by nearly a third in the wake of lockdown.

The Community Justice Fund has now handed out more than £6m in grants since it was set up in May to support not-for-profit legal advice providers through the pandemic.

Demand for partners who specialise in white collar crime will increase just as dramatically after the pandemic as it did after the financial crisis in 2008, a report has predicted.