Legal Services Act

There is a “real profitability divide” between larger and smaller law firms although income is generally increasing across the board, new research has found.

Commercial law firms based in the UK are falling behind their global rivals in adopting new technology, including artificial intelligence and data analytics, a report has warned.

A criminal law barrister who has called for the restoration of legal aid for early advice has become the new minister at the Ministry of Justice responsible for legal aid.

Three months should be enough time for personal injury law firms and defendant insurers to be ready for the whiplash reforms, the government official leading the work said yesterday.

A planning consultancy has created an alternative business structure to handle the legal work associated with planning applications, targeting referrals from small law firms.

The Ministry of Justice today bowed to the inevitable and announced that implementation of the whiplash reforms will be delayed from 6 April to 1 August, while its plans for ADR have been ditched.

Claimant representatives have questioned whether the whiplash reform dealy is long enough, and also condemned the government for dropping the provision of ADR for cases where liability is disputed.

Slaughter and May will tomorrow become the first City law firm targeted for its work with fossil fuel companies by campaign group Lawyers for Extinction Rebellion.

Flexible lawyering business LOD has launched an unregulated law firm, staffed entirely by former in-house solicitors, to help companies with “everyday in-house work”.

An association for female family lawyers will be launched next month, embracing all levels of seniority from High Court judges to paralegals, with the immediate aim of creating a national mentoring scheme. Founding chair Hannah Markham QC said among the… Read More

The way legal services are provided needs to change to recognise that a large portion of the population struggles with the law and needs more help with accessing it, new research has urged.

The public shares a widespread concern that their rights are being eroded and that they need to know more about the law, according to research by the main three lawyer groups published today to mark Justice Week. People were particularly… Read More

The Legal Services Board is ramping up pressure on the Law Society, the Bar Council and other approved regulators over ensuring the independence of their regulatory arms.

The number of conveyancing law firms has fallen to a new low as the market felt the “full brunt” of Brexit-related political and economic uncertainty last year, new research has found.

The number of authorised claims management companies has plunged by almost 40% since the Financial Conduct Authority took over regulation last April, and has refused to authorise one for the first time.