News

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Legal aid lawyers in serious cases deal with trauma that is bound to have an impact on them, and they also have to start showing compassion to junior staff who suffer from burnout.

Defendant insurers have agreed to be bound by the outcome of the alternative dispute resolution process being built into the new whiplash system, it has emerged.

The Law Society has indicated that it has no plans to review its controversial practice note on non-disclosure agreements, despite the urging of MPs. But it may have over-egged the SRA’s support for the note.

Individuals share responsibility with their firms and the regulator for mental health issues affecting misconduct, a specialist solicitor has argued, but said the SRA is inconsistent in its approach.

The largest law firms in the country have embraced thought leadership marketing, making twice as many insights available online – including greater use of social media – as they did four years ago.

A solicitor who lied to potential insurers, on an application for judicial review and then his regulator – in a bid to evade disciplinary action – has finally been struck off.

The government has no intention of making court processes exclusively online and so there is no need to give way to demands to guarantee this in primary legislation, peers were told this week.

There has been some improvement in how lawyers approach the use of non-disclosure agreements, but regulators must take “rigorous enforcement action” over poor conduct, MPs said today.

A former solicitor has been jailed for four years and two months after admitting to plundering a dead client’s estate and then forging other clients’ wills to pay off the first client’s beneficiaries.

The professional indemnity insurance is challenging for renewals this year, but firms can help persuade jittery underwriters of their case for cover by showing that they have taken steps to mitigate risk.