MPs sound access to justice alarm over court reform
Enhancing access to justice appears to be ancillary to the court modernisation programme rather than its central goal, MPs warned yesterday.
Review spells out toll of cyber-crime on law firms
A study of 40 law firms which suffered a cyber-attack over the past three years has found that more than £4m of client money was stolen from 23 of them.
“Turn-around” specialist sought to head Legal Ombudsman
The Legal Services Board is looking for a person with experience of “turn-around situations” to become the new chair of the Office of Legal Complaints, the board which oversees the Legal Ombudsman.
LSB builds case for ‘continuing competence’ push
The Legal Services Board has heard calls for regulators to take a more “hands-on” approach to ensuring that lawyers remain competent through their careers.
Bar Council attacks “overwhelming” handbook updates
The Bar Council has strongly criticised the Bar Standards Board for bombarding barristers with updates to its handbook which risked becoming “overwhelming”.
Conveyancers “need not fear” home buying shake-up
A “single source of truth” that contains all the information about a property before it goes on the market is in the works as part of plans to speed up the home buying and selling process, it has emerged.
Mega-survey highlights need to grow “legal confidence”
The largest legal needs survey ever run in England and Wales shows what a difference professional advice and ‘legal confidence’ among consumers makes to the outcome of their matters.
New law “to put more pressure” on solicitors’ NDA advice
A new law ensuring that employees signing non-disclosure agreements receive independent legal advice will “increase the onus” on solicitors to act properly when drafting them, the government has said.
EU pumps £4m into Welsh legaltech innovation lab
The EU is pumping in £4m to fund an innovation lab at a south Wales law school which will carry out research into artificial intelligence and other legal tech innovations.
7,000 firms to face AML check over compliance concerns
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to check 7,000 law firms’ compliance with anti-money laundering regulations after an initial sweep found that too many were not complying.
