Law firms “could undermine positive impact” of SQE on diversity
The emphasis on increasing the range and choice of legal training in the Solicitors Qualifying Examination could help remove the blockage to social mobility in the profession.
Vodafone offers business customers access to legal help
Mobile telephone giant Vodafone is now offering access to legal services to its 500,000 business customers after signing a partnership with unregulated legal business Sparqa Legal.
Angry Bar Council mocks Buckland over profession’s support
The Bar Council has come out fighting after the Lord Chancellor told the Today programme that there was “a lot of support” from the legal profession for extending court sitting hours.
US Bar chief condemned over Black Lives Matter comments
An American Bar leader who called the Black Lives Matter movement a “terrorist group” five years ago has been denounced “in the strongest terms” by his own organisation.
Fewer than half of employment tribunal claimants use lawyers
Fewer than half of employment tribunal claimants use a lawyer, with most of those unrepresented at hearings saying it was because they could not afford one, according to government research.
Client waived privilege by contesting what her instructions were
A client arguing that her former solicitors did not follow her instructions in drawing up a divorce petition waived privilege in doing so, a High Court judge has ruled.
Barristers plead with peers for government Covid support
Criminal defence barristers have made a desperate plea to peers for government support to survive the Covid-19 crisis, with solicitors agreeing that the profession was in dire straits.
Immigration solicitors permanently banned from unregulated firms
Solicitors handling immigration work can only do so from organisations overseen by a legal regulator or the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has decided.
‘Email threat’ barrister feared “vindictive campaign” against pupil
The drunken barrister who threatened a fellow member of chambers over a tenancy application did so because he believed there was a “vindictive campaign” to damage the pupil’s prospects.
CILEx calls for permanent power of attorney change
The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives has called for a permanent law change after the Land Registry began accepting copies of lasting powers of attorney certified by CILEx lawyers.
